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Esperance’s Late Heroics Wins Cup Derby Behind Closed Doors

April 9th, 2008 | By: Rami | 9 Comments »

They were calling it the final before the final as eternal rivals Club Africain and Esperance were set to face each other in the early stages of the Coupe de Tunisie. Unfortunately some crowd trouble involving the lobbing of flares during a CA match robbed the supporters of the chance to attend and create a spectacle. As coach Ben Chikha put it: “It’s like having a wedding and not inviting anyone.” Even the League itself must have been annoyed at having to make this decision as they are taking a big financial hit on ticket revenue by punishing the fans.

The match itself was rather choppy and the supporters of both teams were surely missed but Esperance will rejoice after their 2-1 win in Stade el Menzah. Given Taraji’s poor run of form, it could be argued that most of the pressure was on CA since they were expected to win. Esperance opened the scoring early in the second half off of a failed clearance by the usually reliable Adel Nefzi. Derbali was there to pounce on the mistake. The lead would not last though as Aymen Rhifi finally got his first goal with Club Africain after good work by Youssef Mouihbi. Rhifi ran to the vacant stands to dedicate his goal to the CA supporters that could not attend.

After the equalizer, both teams took their turns in attacking until the 95th minute when Michael Eneramo dramatically put his team through with a sublime chest control and strike in the lower left corner. There was some controversy as to how deep this was into added time and Rhifi made his views known to the Italian referee and earned a red card for dissent. So there you have it, a great day for Esperance as their fans haven’t been too impressed with them lately and a disappointing result for CA who were hoping for a double or even treble this season. Even Youssef Zouauoi admitted that he needed this win much more than his adversary.

This victory is especially sweet and symbolic for the red and gold since they scored in injury time just like their opponents did to them in Rades in the derby last year. Naturally, I’m personally quite pissed off at the moment (it’s no secret who I support) but congratulations to Esperance who fought hard and deserved their victory.

Check out the goals here.

Tags: Group H

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Comments

By Adel | April 9th, 2008 at 10:57 am

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Posted from United States

By tamim | April 9th, 2008 at 3:25 pm

i have question for you rami. which team do you support?

By thamer | April 9th, 2008 at 3:44 pm

…is that a serious question

Posted from United States

By Rami | April 9th, 2008 at 4:37 pm

El Nadi El Ifriqi. CA forever. Even after heartbreaking losses like today

By Rachid | April 9th, 2008 at 6:37 pm

You’re a good sport, Rami, and sorry for the disappointment! I have not seen the match, but based on what I’ve read, I may not have missed much. I don’t know what happens to CA players when they play against Esperance. L’Etoile (and Marchand) had the right formula when they beat them in El-Menzah. They knew exactly how to win and wasted no time getting the job done. I’m no football expert, but I guess this is where coaching comes in! The next 4 games for CA are going to be decisive: one against OB, one against Etoile (do or die), and 2 against Enyimba! Good luck!!!

By Faithful Fan of Yours | April 9th, 2008 at 10:18 pm

Despite your love of CA, I’m impressed with your fair reporting. Glad to see your good sportsmanship coming through in your blog.

Posted from Yemen

By Skander | April 10th, 2008 at 12:52 am

Tarraji ya dawla!
Hey Rami, we Espérantistes have had so little to celebrate lateley, don’t begrudge us this small little victory. Seriously though, I can’t believe the FTF got away with banning the public from watching the game?!?! Nobody said or did anything?

Posted from Japan

By Rami | April 10th, 2008 at 5:45 am

Rachid, all you missed really is the Eneramo goal. As heartbreaking as it was for me on a personal level, it was pretty nasty. Bochtobji jumped too early Eneramo stays on his feet and brings it down sweetly onto his right for the deadly volley, fooling the other player guarding him in the process. Take a look if you haven’t seen it yet. Seeing Rhifi’s first goal for the Club was nice after he was disallowed a legit goal for offside a few weeks ago. I also liked his celebration. Nothing much for us in this game besides that.

Faithful Fan, thanks a million…I try

Skander, congratulations once more. You guys deserved this victory and depending on what happens next it may prove bigger than you think (especially in the CAF Cup). As for banning the public, it happens in other countries too and is standard procedure really. They basically did it because they wanted to show no one is above the rules of the game, even the big teams. However, the announcer was saying that there has been talk of revising the rule because fans should not be all punished for the stupid actions of a few. We’ll see what happens with that.

By Rami | April 10th, 2008 at 11:30 am

Oh and Rachid, you’re right about the upcoming weeks and their importance for CA. Basically they will define our season. I just hope we don’t crumble like my beloved Arsenal. Peaking too early (as they did) is a huge concern.

Posted from United States

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