Etoile look to avoid Omdurman upset

by Graeme Jackson

Sunday Apr 14, 2019. 12:00

Etoile du Sahel will look to avoid an upset when they head to Omdurman for the second leg of their CAF Confederation Cup quarterfinal tie against Al Hilal.

The match is slated for the Al Hilal Stadium on Sunday 14 April 2019, kick-off at 15h00 CAT.

The Tunisians, who are four-time Confederation Cup champions (and three-time runners-up), established a stranglehold on the tie when they won 3-1 last Sunday at the Olympic Stadium in Sousse.

Zied Boughattas opened the scoring on the half hour mark, before Yassine Chikhaoui added two penalties in the 34th and 81st minutes for ESS.

Yet an away goal from Athar El Tahir has given the Sudanese side hope of a comeback, with the knowledge that a 2-0 win would allow them to progress into the final four.

The Blue Wave’s coach is Tunisian Nabil Kouki, who has only been in the job for a few weeks is well aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents. For Kouki, nothing will endear him to the Omdurman fans more than turning this tie around.

Etoile coach Roger Lemerre will be wary of the threat posed by the Sudanese giants and urging his team not to rest on their laurels. The Frenchman is in his second spell in charge of ESS and looking to win a second piece of silverware with the club, following their Tunisian Cup triumph in 2014.

The match in Omdurman will be handled by Egyptian referee Mahmoud El Banna. The aggregate winners will advance into the semifinals to face either Hassania Agadir (Morocco) or Zamalek (Egypt).