Enugu Rangers went back to their base with a precious point and top spot of the group after CS Sfaxien to a 1-1 draw in their Group B Day Two clash away in Sfax.
The draw keeps Rangers at the top of the standings despite tied on four points with Sfaxien.
Sfaxien fans vastly outnumbered the handful of Rangers fans that were present in Taieb Mhiri Stadium. Though their numbers were insignificant, the Nigerian fans cheered Rangers relentlessly throughout the game, often singing and dancing to fight the Tunisian cold weather.
Both goals were less than two minutes apart. Ala Marzougui was the first to score for the home side on 71 minutes before Pape Ousmane Sane evened the score a minute later.
Sfaxien went straight into attack from the early minutes of the game. Rangers’ goalkeeper Nana Bonsu’s skills helped him fend off Jassem Hamdouni’s efforts at goal on seven minutes. The visitors responded in the 26th minute but Ayman Dahmen had no trouble saving the shot by Msonter Shimanga.
Two minutes later, Heni Amamou struck a superb bicycle-kick but Bonsu deflected to a corner, which was wasted by the host.
On 71 minutes, Nour Zammouri laid a cross which met the head of Marzougui for the opener.
But Rangers had no intention of letting their hosts enjoy their moment. A minute later, Dahmen spilled a free-kick and Sane tapped home the rebound for the equalizer, and cut shot the joy of the ‘Black and White’.
In the 78th minute, Bobby Clement found himself in a one-on-one situation with Sfaxien goalkeeper Dahmen, but the latter stepped out of his safe zone to weather the storm as both sides shared the spoils.
Burkinabe torchbearers Salitas and Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia settled for a barren draw in the other Group B clash in Ouagadougou.
Source: cafonline
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