A Point Against EST is Always a Good Thing for ESZ
The ESZ team can be satisfied with the draw against EST, especially after two consecutive big mistakes. A point against EST, after two big mistakes, is always a good thing to take for Lamjed Rjili's teammates.
La Presse
By drawing with EST, ESZ avoided a third consecutive defeat, which would have worsened their results crisis. The satisfaction of ending the big slump, even with a dull goalless draw, outweighed the feeling of losing two points at home. Especially after the scares in the 83rd minute and the penalty obtained by Espérance de Tunis, which was stopped by goalkeeper Seïfeddine Charfi, who well anticipated Yassine Meriah's shot.
Coach Anis Boujelbène could only qualify the sharing of points as positive. "We must be realistic and recognize that a draw against Espérance is a point won. A result that is not mathematically perfect with two lost points, but its psychological impact is capital for me and my players," he emphasized. A small relief understandable for Boujelbène, who still has the rout by 3-1 in Zarzis against ASS and the shipwreck in Bardo 3-0 against ST in mind.
Beneficial Tactical Adjustment
Against Maher Kanzari's "Sang et Or", he returned to the game plan from the start of the season, which had worked for him. This change in tactical organization was beneficial and decisive, as it allowed him to pose big problems for Maher Kanzari, who failed to create large gaps in the concrete wall erected by the Zarzissiens, despite the changes made during the game.
The three-center back formation (Rjili - Ghouma - Diallo) worked well this time, and the two full-backs, Ghassen Mahersi and Jassem Belkilani, did their defensive job perfectly. Goalkeeper Seïfeddine Charfi only had to do the rest and show mastery of his area in the air and on his goal line. The second line with three midfielders (Ousmane Combassa, Kouni Khalfa, Moatez Chouchen) made the block more airtight and prevented the powerful "Sang et Or" from Tunis from running at will.
Even the premature departure of Jassem Belkilani (a full-back) due to injury and his replacement by Amir Tajouri (a midfielder) at the half-hour mark did not have a negative effect and did not disrupt Boujelbène's defensive game plan. The subsequent changes, position by position (the duo Khalfa, Chouchen replaced by Kassab and Ben Dhiaf in midfield, and the pair Jartila - Nshuti taking the place of the tandem Rahmani - Ogoh in attack), followed the same cautious approach until the end.
"In this match with a tough and fiery opponent who has great offensive potential and a wide range of maneuvers in the approach work, we didn't need to be spectacular and too ambitious," Boujelbène explained. "I chose to deliver a virile match, a man-to-man combat to concede the least amount of space and win or, at least, not lose a large number of duels. Any other tactical approach would have been fatal to us. We came out unscathed from this battle, and the point we snatched has value in my eyes. And it's very logical that in our camp, we look at the half-full glass."
Even with a half-accomplished mission, the ESZ coach breathed a sigh of relief. Now it's time to prepare for the next match against OB in a less heated climate.
