Espérance de Tunis recorded a convincing 2-0 win this Wednesday at the Radès Stadium against Olympique de Béja, on Matchday 7 of Ligue 1. The Blood and Gold dominated from start to finish, but squandered countless opportunities that could have turned the game into a much bigger scoreline.
The tone was set right from the start: in the 2nd minute, Jabri wasted a golden chance. Just six minutes later, Youcef Belaïli delivered a fine ball to Tka on the left, whose perfect cross found Jebali. The forward made no mistake with a well-placed header to open the scoring (1-0). Soon after, Jabri missed again in the 11th minute, before Meriah, unmarked in front of an empty goal, failed to control the ball and spurned another golden opportunity in the 19th. Jabri then repeated his woes at the 27th minute, underlining Espérance’s inefficiency in front of goal.
The Radès crowd thought they had witnessed a masterpiece in the 39th minute, when Belaïli scored with a stunning bicycle kick. Unfortunately, the referee ruled it out for an offside on Yan Sasse, who had provided the cross. Two minutes later, Belaïli missed another huge chance. Despite total control and dominance, Espérance went into half-time with only a narrow 1-0 lead, far from reflecting their superiority.
The second half followed the same pattern. In the 48th minute, Jebali’s powerful strike was brilliantly saved by OB’s goalkeeper Smaoui, before Sasse forced him into another stop at the 55th. At the hour mark, Tougaï appeared to be fouled by the keeper, but neither the referee nor VAR intervened. Ten minutes from time, Belaïli was also pushed inside the box, but again no penalty was awarded.
Relief finally came in the 84th minute. Ben Ali played a clever through ball to Florian Danho. The Franco-Ivorian striker, making his debut, turned quickly and fired a powerful low shot into the net (2-0). A clinical finish that sealed the win for the Blood and Gold.
In stoppage time, Maâcha could have added a third but slipped at the crucial moment. Still, Espérance wrapped up a deserved 2-0 victory. The only regret: an astonishing number of missed chances that could have turned the game into a landslide win.
Special mention goes to new signing Danho, who made an immediate impact by scoring in his first 30 minutes in red and gold, a promising start for the rest of the season.
EST Lineup: Ben Saïd, Ben Ali (Maâcha 88'), Elaïfi, Meriah(c), Tougaï, Ogbelu (Guenichi 81'), Tka, Jebali (Boualia 81'), Sasse (Dhaou 59'), Belaïli and Jabri (Danho Séké 59').