Imed Ben Younès Defeats Faouzi Benzarti: ES Métlaoui Relaunches and Club Africain Falters
La Presse — Yesterday's match between ESM and CA was expected to be intense and attack-oriented from both sides. Club Africain, lurking in the standings behind its leaders, needed to validate its position and more. Meanwhile, the Miners, somewhat inconsistent so far, required a win to jump up the rankings and regain confidence.
Let's move on to the harsh truth of the field. There was no observation period in this explanation, with both teams displaying their offensive intentions from the start. The Miners quickly unlocked the score with Ahmed Ouled Bahia's goal, leaving the CA defense stunned. Ali Youssef made a monumental mistake with his poor header pass to Yefreni.
The match was underway, and the encounter heated up. A quarter of the game had passed when Club Africain attempted some unsuccessful incursions by Khadhraoui. Around the 20th minute, CA could have restored balance, but Chawat was thwarted by goalkeeper Ben Cherifia following a service from Hamza Khadhraoui. The next minute, ESM proved just as formidable, but the CA goalkeeper intervened against Naby Sylla.
Around the 30th minute, goalkeeper Yeferni injured himself and was replaced by Mouhib Chamekh, a familiar face for Etoile de Métlaoui. Until then, CA had been piercing but not performing, while ESM was making an impact with swift counterattacks, although without validating. On the CA side, Charfeddine Aoun was expelled at the 40th minute.
That's where we'll leave the first half, with a willing but ineffective CA, even though Ghaith Zaalouni could have equalized around the 51st minute. Briefly, 10 minutes of added time brought nothing new, although Sameh Bouhajeb could have doubled the score following a hazardous exit by Chamekh. Hamza Jaied then blew the whistle to end the interminable first half.
Chawat's Missed Opportunity
Returning from the break, ESM started strong, but Onana's shot found Chamekh ready to receive. The pace slowed down afterward, but the engagement was total from both sides, with a game confined to each side and few successful ideas when trying to project forward.
Around the hour mark, the debate remained balanced, but CA was chasing the score, while ESM could be content with what had been achieved. In the 68th minute, Srarfi alerted Hamza Ben Cherifia, who pushed the ball back. In the 83rd minute, CA pushed, obtained a penalty provoked and taken by Chawat, but Ben Cherifia, decidedly in a state of grace, repelled it. The game entered its final stretch, and CA couldn't find the gap. ESM fully deserved its victory against a CA that was uncomfortable and feverish.
ESM Lineup:
- Hamza Ben Cherifia
- Oussema Bahri
- Mohamed Ben Hassine
- Fares Meskini
- Eric Koussai
- Islam Gasmi
- Naby Sylla
- Sameh Bouhajeb
- Brandon Nana (Abdoulay Bangoura)
- Ahmed Ouled Bahia
- Yassine Soltani
CA Lineup:
- Ghaith Yefreni (Mouhib Chamekh)
- Ghaith Zaalouni
- Hamza Ben Abda
- Ali Youssef
- Oussema Shili
- Moataz Zemzemi (Saidou Khan)
- Charfeddine Aoun
- Bilel Ait Malek (Sadok Mahmoud)
- Philippe Kinzumbi (Bassem Srarfi)
- Hamza Khadhraoui
- Firas Chawat
