Sunshine Stars stumble in semi-final 1st leg against Club Africain

Nigerian club side Sunshine Stars debutants in the Orange CAF Confederation Cup made life difficult for themselves by losing the first leg semi-final match at home to Club Africain from Tunisia.  The expected pattern had seemed to have taken shape from first whistle, with Sunshine on the offensive and Club Africain content to soak up the pressure. The home side had the first meaningful chance when Akombo Ukeyima came close to opening the scoring but his shot was just inches wide of Africain goal. Sunshine continued creating more chances but could not put them away and as the game went on the visitors grew in confidence and upped the tempo but the first half finished goalless The Tunisian side came back with a different strategy in the second half and came out more taking the game to Sunshine. An open flowing match ensued and Club Africain showed their Cup credentials when Chad-born goal poacher Ezechiel Ndouassel scored the opener nine minutes into the second half much to the disbelief of the home crowd . Ndouassel broke through the Nigeria side’s defence taking advantage of some hesitancy and flicked the ball past Sunshine goalkeeper Ocheje Moses. Sunshine pressed for an equalizer but found a solid Africain defence in the way. Sunshine made changes bringing in Emmanuel Sunday for Ojo Dayo and Saki Atanda came in for Dele Olorundare but to no avail. Africain brought in Aymen Soltani and to shore up their lead as the game worn off and the visitors managed to hang on to a precious away win. nlinem - All rights reserved Club Africain boosted their chances of a first African title in 20 years after a 1-0 win at Sunshine Stars of Nigeria Saturday in a Confederation Cup semi-final. Chad-born goal poacher Ezechiel Ndouassel snatched the lone goal nine minutes into the second half of a first leg at south-western town Ijebu Ode in the most populous African country. The Tunis club will host the second leg on October 29 at the Al-Menzah Stadium behind closed doors as punishment for crowd trouble during a group match against ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast. Club Africain won the 1991 African Champions Cup -- forerunner to the African Champions League -- with a 7-3 aggregate drubbing of Nakivubo Villa of Uganda but have been overshadowed since by compatriots Esperance, Etoile Sahel and CS Sfaxien. Sunshine are competing in Africa for the first time this year and the home loss is another blow to a country still reeling from the failure last weekend of the national 'Super Eagles' team to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Angolan police team InterClube host title favourites Moghreb Fes of Morocco in Luanda Sunday in the other semi-final of a competition carrying a 660,000-dollar first prize.