Tunisian club Etoile du Sahel earned an important 2-0 away victory over Algeria’s CS Constantine SC in the first leg of their TotalEnergies CAF Champions League preliminary tie on Friday night.
Both teams failed to find a breakthrough in a goalless first half at Martyr Hamlawi Stadium in Constantine.
The deadlock was broken in the 71st minute when Malian star Soumaila Sidibe dribbled past the Constantine defence to fire Etoile ahead.
The hosts were unlucky when Hamza Daman’s late effort was ruled offside after initially looking like the equaliser.
With minutes left, Constantine keeper Khaireddine Boussouf fouled Hamza Al Jelassi in the area and the resulting penalty sealed a 2-0 win for the Tunisians.
The first leg victory gives Etoile, 2017 Champions League winners, a solid advantage ahead of the return fixture in Sousse next week.
The Algerians now face a difficult task overturning a two-goal deficit in the second leg to progress past the preliminary stage.
Etoile will be confident of completing the job on home soil to book their place in the next round of Africa’s premier club competition.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian side St George began their campaign with a hard-fought 2-1 first leg victory over Tanzania’s KMKM SC earlier on Friday.
The first preliminary round, first leg match tie took place at Azam Complex Stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Goals from Biniam Belay and Natneal Zeleke gave St George a slim advantage to take into the second leg in Ethiopia on 27 August.
The Ethiopian giants soaked up early pressure from their Zanzibar opponents before taking the lead in the 38th minute through Belay’s well-worked goal.
St George then showed their game management skills by protecting their lead until half-time.
The visitors extended their advantage five minutes after the restart when tall striker Zeleke rose above his markers to head in a corner.
KMKM pulled a goal back late on to give themselves hope ahead of the return fixture.
Both sides are looking to make their mark in Africa this season after underwhelming Champions League campaigns in recent years.
St George, Ethiopia’s oldest club formed in 1935, have a passionate fanbase and reached the group stage in 2017 but failed to progress further.
Meanwhile, KMKM are yet to qualify for the group stage in their Champions League history.
The second leg in Ethiopia will determine who reaches the next qualifying round, with St George holding a slim first leg lead.
CAF