One win away from the final

By: Houssem | October 14th, 2008

I won’t waste your time on discussing what happened at Kumasi during and after the 2-2 draw against Asante Kotoko. Mr. Codja was up to the expectations and lost control of the game, thus leading to a “break” during which many members of Étoile’s staff gave an interesting display of unsporting behaviour. Physiotherapist Anis Ben Ayed was even arrested by police forces for assaulting a policeman and spent a couple of days in jail. We’re all glad he got safely back home, but it’s the fact that he was almost welcomed like a local hero that guts me. His and some players’ behaviour is unworthy of a club like Étoile du Sahel. Subs running around on the pitch, going at the referee and his assistants, local police or medical staff … this is partly why african football isn’t yet ready to rise to a higher level despite the massive talent it has produced over the two past decades.

Now back to the actual football ! The game against Asante Kotoko was one of those where you have to hold together as a group and believe in your chances until the last minute. And we did, until the miracle happened and Coffie Codja actually granted us a penalty – which, unfortunately, we couldn’t see live due to the poor broadcast. Despite the point we came back with, we still have to beat JS Kabylie in Sousse next Saturday, but we got rid of Al Merrikh as a direct opponent. Goalkeeper Mathlouthi was arguably Étoile’s best man on the pitch, saving the day more than once, while the rest of the group did their job and held back against the numerous attacks of the ghanaian team. If we show this much strength against JS Kabylie, there is no reason to be anything else but confident ahead of this “semi-final”

This game will definitely be very special, not only because I’m lucky enough to arrive in Tunisia only a few hours before kick-off (Tunisian bloggers on the move, eh Rami?), but also because it’s one of those must-win situations where players have to give their best.

Mathlouthi, Nafkha, Felhi, Jemal and Mosrati, five of our 1st team players will get the chance to play against France today with the national team. A huge opportunity for all of them, but they need to stay focused on the only competition that matters right now.

You can have a look at the only interesting goal of the game, Slim Jedaied’s 1 on 1 following a nice in-depth ball from Bejaoui. Apart from scoring, Jedaied wasn’t really impressing. At some point I thought I was watching a tired 35-year-old and not a youngster like him, but he did more than enough. He can just lay on the pitch if he scores a winner against JS Kabylie.

Ashanti Kotoko vs ESS 1-1
envoyé par meher03

Your impressions about what happened in Kumasi, possible/preferred lineups are most welcome ! Good luck to our boys against les Bleus, see you soon, and inchallah marbouha.