Esperance reach African Champions League final
- Published
Youssef Msakni (left) and Wajdi Bouazzi celebrate the goal that gave Esperance a two-goal advantage over Sudan's Al Hilal
Tunisian side Esperance reached the final of the African Champions League thanks to a 2-0 win over Sudanese visitors Al Hilal on Saturday.
Deprived of crowd support after trouble in a group match last month, Esperance took the lead seven minutes into the second half through Youssef Msakni.
Wajdi Bouazza added a second in the final minute to seal the win.
The victory behind closed doors at the national stadium in a Tunis suburb completed a 3-0 aggregate success.
Esperance won the competition in 1994 and have been losing finalists three times since.
Msakni grabbed the lone goal of the first-leg in Omdurman two weeks ago.
He has now struck five in the competition this season - two less than leading scorer Edward Sadomba from Al Hilal.
Defeat was particularly bitter for the Sudanese side, who axed Serb coach Milutin Sredojevic after the first-leg loss, as they were failing at the penultimate stage for the third time within five years.
Esperance will discover their final opponents Sunday when Wydad Casablanca of Morocco defend a 1-0 lead away to Enyimba of Nigeria in a clash of former African champions.