Champions League and Confederation Cup Action from the African Continent

L’etoile Sportive du Sahel took on Al Hilal of Sudan in the African Champions League Semi Final first leg in Sudan and came out on the losing end by the score of 2-1 in favor of the home side. Haven’t seen the match so I’ll refrain from in depth analysis but from various accounts of the game it sounds like ESS came out pretty strong and managed to open the score in the first half only to tire in the second and concede a pair of impressive goals. It’s not that bad of a scenario for the Tunisian club team though. They have the valuable away goal and now all they have to do is score a goal at home and wait for the final whistle. I know it’s not quite that simple and Al Hilal will have their chances so I hope ESS players don’t try settle for one because that could very well get them in trouble. By the time they play that game they should have the influential Saber Ben Fraj back from injury which could prove decisive. I see them going through to the final to face Al Ahly of Egypt in what should be a very compelling Champions League Final. It’s not all said and done though so let’s wait and see. Video of the goals can be found below. Props to Ali for pointing me in the right direction. Arabic speakers interested in match analysis and commentary press here.

In Other News:

In the other Continental competition, the African Confederations Cup, the Club Sportive Sfaxien defeated Astres Douala of Cameroon 3-0. The result puts them in first place of their group and means they now have one foot in the final as they need to obtain a win against Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa to get there for sure. I’ve yet to find the goals or the highlights for this game. Once I do, I’ll update this post.

Update

As promised, here are the highlights of the CSS-Astres Douala game. Looked like an entertaining match. Plenty of opportunities, nice goals, and good bits of skill.