Confederation of African Football http://www.cafonline.com
(Giza)
(AllAfrica)The winner of the 2011 Orange CAF Champions League will be decided next week in Tunis after Esperance of Tunisia held Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco to a barren draw in the first leg final on Sunday in Casablanca.
The result, a positive outcome for the Tunisians, who were playing away from home serves a major disappointment for Wydad, who were banking on a convincing result to make the return encounter a mere formality.
It maintained the status quo of no winner emerging in three matches between the two sides in the premier continental club championship this season. However, the jinx will finally be broken when the two sides face off for the fourth time next week in the Tunisian capital.
Esperance opened in the second half and took charge of the midfield backed by the introduction of captain Oussama Darragi. The 24-year old led several raids into the hosts’ half in their quest to break the deadlock.Wydad have themselves to blame after failing to convert their dominance in the opening half into goals. Cheered on by a packed crowd at the Mohammed V Stadium, the 1992 winners piled pressure on their guests but the breakthrough was missing.
On 88 minutes, Darragi was fouled in the Wydad defence but Khaled Korbi’s effort from the resultant free-kick was dealt with by the Moroccans captain Nadir Lamyaghri.
The second leg will take place on Saturday, November 12 with the winner pocketing $1.5 million and the ticket to represent Africa at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan in December.
