The Sunday Mail
Ngqwele Dube in Bulawayo
FC Platinum………………. . . . 0
Etoile du Sahel……………. (1) 3
FC PLATINUM’s struggles in the CAF Champions League group stage continued as they were hammered by visiting Tunisian side, Etoile du Sahel, in their second match at Barbourfields yesterday.
Defensive lapses cost the home side big time as they were beaten on the counter attack twice despite maintaining possession for the better part of the game.
The teams were evenly balanced in the first half but FC Platinum struggled to create clear cut chances and allowed Etoile to take the lead in the 23rd minute when double scorer Karim Aribi scored his first with a header off a Maher Hannachi cross from the right flank.
Aribi took advantage of his superior height to take a free header inside the box.
The home side’s real chance at goal came in the 38th minute when Kelvin Madzongwe released a rising shot from outside the box to force Etoile’s goalkeeper Achraf Krir to punch the ball away for a corner. However, the Platinum miners could not make much of the ball.
As he took a free kick from outside the box, Never Tigere had his shot at goal punched away by Krir just before the interval.
Etoile made it two a minute into the second half after a quick counter raid saw Wajdi Kechrida cross the ball from the right flank, allowing Aribi to tap in for his second goal of the match after catching the Platinum defence napping.
The Tunisians ensured a comfortable win a minute into injury time when another quick break saw substitute Hazem Haj Hassen make another tap in off a Hannachi cross from the left flank.
The loss, which is the second for FC Platinum in the group stages, left the Zimbabwean kings the only team yet to collect a point. They are at the bottom of Group B, which also has Egypt’s Al Ahly and Sudan’s Al Hilal, who are on three points each while Etoile are on top of the log with six points.
FC Platinum coach Lizwe Sweswe remained hopeful despite the loss, saying his side played well but was let down by defensive blunders.
“We had lapses in concentration at the back and they (Etoile) took advantage of that to punish us. However, there are still more games to be played and we will keep on fighting.
“I am hopeful we will turn our fortunes around and build on the positives that we had in the game, things like maintaining possession. We will also work on the grey areas that saw us being beaten,” he said.
Etoile coach Juan Carlos Garrido said he had anticipated a difficult match, but his team had made the right moves at the key moments to score the goals.
“We knew it was important to be effective at the right moments. For me, the second goal was important coming in just after the start of the second half, it boosted our confidence.
“We were also lucky that they (FC Platinum) failed to convert the chances they got,” he said.
