Esperance Defeats Al Ittihad Tripoli In First Leg Of UNAF Cup Semi Final

Esperance Sportive de Tunis came out 2-1 victors over Lybian rivals Al Ittihad of Tripoli in the first leg of their UNAF Cup of League Champions semi-finals encounter.

The locals put forward a rather underwhelming performance by their high standards, but still managed to pull out the win to the delight of their loyal supporters.

The first goal of the encounter came in the 20th minute through the “Blood and Gold” outfit’s left back, Khaled Chammam, who found himself wide open just inside the area, after a free kick executed by Tunisia international midfielder Khaled Korbi and made no mistake with his finish.

Al Ittihad responded only 14 minutes later through Ahmed Zoui, who capped off a well organized attack with a precise header that gave the home side’s goalkeeper no chance.

In the second half, Faouzi Benzarti’s side were so eager to take the lead back that they ended up rushing too many of their attacks against their visitors, who were doing well to shut down all attempts on goal.

However, just as it looked as if Al Ittihad would leave Tunisia with a great result, Wajdi Bouazzi clanged a free kick off the crossbar and national Olympic striker Khaled Ayari opened his UNAF account with an outstanding bicycle kick from close range to give Esperance a valuable win.

Sadly, the match was marred with a fight breaking out between both camps that continued into the dressing room. The two sides will face each other once more in Tripoli on November 24 in a game that is set to be a high tempered affair.

Rami Ayari, Goal.com