Esperance win Tunisian Super Cup
Doha, Qatar: Esperance de Tunis fans in Doha finally had some to cheer and sing about.
They had endured heartbreak at Al Gharafa Stadium on Friday after of losing to Raja Casablanca in the CAF Super Cup, despite being the favourites, but on Monday they beat Club Athletique Bizertin 2-1 to win the Tunisian Super Cup.
Anice Badri and Taha Khenissi scored for Esperance during a whirlwind opening while Halim Darragi scored in the 34th minute for Bizertin who played the whole of the second half with 10 men after Wissam Boussina got a red card in the 49th minute.
Bizertin, third in the Tunisian league, had lost their last two league games and predictably were on the back foot right from the start.
For Esperance, Youcef Belaili was the first to fire a warning shot which went wide, before Badri tested Bizertin goalkeeper Khemais Thamri with a volley from an acute angle.
It took the Tunisian league leaders only 13 minutes to make their mark and Belaili was the chief architect of the goal, weaving his way into the box and passing the ball to an unmarked Badri, who applied the finishing touches with a first time shot into the bottom corner.
Three minutes later, Esperance again breached Bizertin defence with ridiculous ease — a long ball from the defence and a flick in the centre circle allowing Taha Khenessi to break free unchallenged. He still had the goalkeeper to beat, but Thamri was wrong-footed by what appeared like a lack of punch in the shot.
The goal, however, brought Bizertin to life and after Halim Darragi made a surging run on the right to test Moez Ben Cherifia with a left-footer, they scored.
A long, hopeful ball into the box possessed no apparent goal threat but Esperance could not clear it the first time and Aymen Mehmoud only managed to make a dangerous swipe at Ibrahim Ouattara with his attempted clearance.
Referee Yousef Serairi had no hesitation pointing to the spot and Darragi emphatically fired the penalty to the back of the net to make it 2-1.
Stung by the unexpected blow, Esperance came hard at Bizertin but the underdogs managed to hold on.
However, their chances of putting more pressure on the champions suffered a severe blow right at the start of the second half as Wissam Boussina got his marching orders after seeing two yellow cards in four minutes.
Esperance had plenty of chances after that but their attackers could not make use of their numerical advantage, with Belaili and Saad Bguir guilty of missing easy chances.
In the dying moments of the match, Bizertin goalkeeper Thamri made a sensational goal-line save to deny Youssoufa Mbengue although it did not have any bearing on the outcome of the match.
Qatar Football Association President Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani and Tunisian Football chief Wadii Jarii presented the trophy to the winners.
