Despite Momentary Lapses in the Final Third, Espérance Wins Convincingly Against Métlaoui Miners
La Presse — Following a bitter defeat at Bardo last Saturday, Espérance welcomed Métlaoui Miners with the firm intention of redeeming themselves and boosting their morale before embarking on their African adventure. The visitors, on the other hand, came to Radès hoping to return with a positive result. However, their hosts were more determined, showing more initiative by opting for an all-out attack from the start.
The first warning came in the 17th minute when Ben Hmida centered for Boualia, who headed the ball slightly off target. The next opportunity proved to be the decisive one: Ogbelu took advantage of a long pass to cut off the ball's trajectory from the center of the field, served Belaïli, who accelerated down the left flank until reaching the penalty area before centering for Boualia. With the goal at his mercy, Boualia simply had to finish the job by lodging the ball into the net of a helpless Hamza Ben Chérifia (21').
As if one misfortune wasn't enough, Métlaoui's left winger, Zied Ben Salem, was sent off after bringing down Youssef Belaïli, preventing him from continuing his run (36').
Jabri Finally Scores... Returning from the locker room, Espérance resumed the match more determined than ever to capitalize on their numerical superiority and make the score even more lopsided. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Hamza Ben Chérifia fought valiantly to prevent the Espérance attackers from reaching his goal again. Ben Chérifia made several good saves, including intercepting Sasse's shot on the last line of defense (47') and clearing Belaïli's powerful, targeted shot with a corner kick (59').
However, Ben Chérifia alone couldn't stop the Espérance machine, which, despite occasionally lacking a finishing touch, continued to run at full capacity. The determination of the "Blood and Gold" was such that a second goal was inevitable. It came in the 77th minute when Belaïli, once again the catalyst, infiltrated the penalty area, served a pass back to Sasse, whose shot was repelled by Ben Chérifia before Achref Jabri directly scored into the net. Jabri finally found the back of the net, and it was about time!
In the end, Espérance won a convincing victory, one that came at the right time before embarking on their African adventure at the end of the week, traveling to Niamey to face the Nigerien Armed Forces Sports Association in the first leg of the Champions League preliminary round.
EST: Ben Said, Keita (Sasse 46'), Ben Hmida (Laifi 80'), Jelassi, Meriah, Ogbelu, Tka, Jebali (Ben Ali 46'), Boualia (Konaté 69'), Bouassida (Jabri 69'), and Belaili. ESM: Ben Chérifia, Bahri, Ben Hassine, Meskini (Fajraoui 46'), Soltani, Kouassi (Bouhajeb 69'), Sylla (Brandon 60'), Bangoura, Ouled Bahia (Kachouri 83'), Gasmi, and Ben Salem.
