US Monastir Easily Qualifies for the Second Preliminary Round of the Champions League
The Monastirians, clearly superior to their opponents, had no difficulty composing their ticket to the second preliminary round of the Champions League. It was a real walk in the park for Fabrice Zeguei's teammates against the Sierra Leonean team East End Lions FC, who were no match for them. The return leg of the first preliminary round of the Champions League was approached with a psychological advantage by Montassar Louhichi's men, following the large score obtained a week earlier in the first leg match played in Radès (4-0).
With this score, qualification was almost in the bag, and the return match was just a formality. From the start, the USM team further sank their opponent with an early opening score, headed in by Fabrice Zeguei (2'). Five minutes later, it was Moez Haj Ali's turn to find the back of the net when he stole the ball from an opposing defender, sprinted into the penalty area, and shot directly into the goal (7').
At the half-hour mark, Malcolm Elhmidi missed an easy goal: after infiltrating the left side, he saw his cross-shot graze the second post (30'). The USM team went into the locker room for the halftime break with a two-goal advantage.
A moment of weakness! After returning from the locker room, the Monastirians resumed the debate with total domination. And to be honest, the balance was so much in favor of the Monastirians that they had a moment of weakness: leaving the 16-meter area, Abdessalem Hlaoui was unable to poke the ball with his foot, and David Alpha Conteh managed to lob him (49').
After this moment of weakness, which cost them dearly, the USM team regained their composure and managed to kill the game with a third goal: Ibrahim Souissi tried to serve Nassim Douihech in the penalty area. With the intention of cutting the trajectory of the ball, Alimamy J Kamara deceived his own goalkeeper and scored an own goal (72').
Despite the changes made, the Sierra Leoneans were far from being able to make a difference. The Monastirians qualified easily for the second preliminary round of the Champions League, without exerting themselves too much.
USM lineup: Hlaoui, Zeguei, Azzouz (Chikhaoui 46'), Zammouri, Saber, Moises, Haj Ali (Sidibe 46'), Bodian (Yaakoubi 59'), El Hmidi, Douihech (Diane 77'), and Gadiaga (Souissi 59').
