Etoile du Sahel Reaches CAF Confederation Cup Semi-final

Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia made it through to the semi-finals of 2018/2019 CAF Confederation Cup after beating Sudan’s Al Hilal Omdurman 2-1 in the second leg of the quarter-final in Cairo to advance on 5-2 aggregate.

Al Hilal had the first chance of the game when Boubacar Diarra struck the woodwork with a ferocious shot in the 10th minute at the Egyptian Army Stadium.

Etoile did create their first chance soon after when Iheb Msakni put his free-kick just wide of the target with 20 minutes on the clock.

Malek Kanote then came close five minutes later when his well-struck free-kick was headed out of danger.

Al Hilal managed to open the scoring on the half-hour mark with Waledd Bakhet easily beating Etoile goalkeeper Walid Kridane to make it 1-0 to Al Hilal as the hosts scored their second goal in the tie.

It took a moment of inspiration from Malek Baayou to get the Tunisian back on level terms as he sprinted to the byline and pulled the ball back to Karim Aribi to slot home.

The game remained tight after the restart as both sides refused to give away chances or ball possession.

Mohammed Abugaala had the first real chance of the second stanza, having his shot saved on the line, following Athar El Tahir cross from out on the left.

Idris Ilunga also had a shot inside the penalty box but it was easily contained by the Etoile who had been reduced to ten men when Aribi was sent off following an off the ball incident.

The high defensive line by Al Hilal was easily swapped off by the fast pace of Etoile as Karim Aouadhi outsprinted the defense to go one-on-one with Jamal Salim, who narrowed the angle with a save.

The game moved into the final ten minutes and it was Wajdi Kechrida who proved to be the match-winner as he picked up on a loose ball on the edge of the box and fired a left-footer into the bottom corner.