Goldfields Beat Club Africaine In CAF Cup Match

Accra,(Greater Accra Region) 11 Oct. Obuasi Goldfields kept their dreams of reaching the finals of the CAF Clubs Champions League with a 2-0 win over visiting Tunisian Club Africaine in their match played at the Accra sports stadium today. A goal in each half by centre forward Joe Okyere and inside left Kossi Noutsoudje was all Goldfields needed to carry the day. The Tunisians gave a false impression of carrying the day as they plunged into attack right from kick off, after pre-match formalities led by Mr. Sylvester Azantilo, a deputy Youth and Sports Minister. But they wasted a first minute free kick and two corner kicks in the second minute. Two minutes later skipper and national star Faouzi Rouissi headed away after half back Rezki Amorouche's long throw. Nabil Kouki was booked in the fourth minute for pulling and Goldfields' Eben Dadzie took his turn receiving the yellow card two minutes later for rough play. The "miners" gradually came into the picture and from one of right winger Kwabena Boateng's numerous fast breaks, Okyere connected home in the 13th minute to open the scoring for Goldfields. Cheered on by the sparse crowd which included the Nigerian supporters union, Goldfields should have made it two in the 19th minute but Okyere's cleverly lobbed ball over the head of the Tunisian goalkeeper, Boubaker Zitouni, hit the woodwork and a defender pushed the rebound to corner. Africaine replaced linkman Housseneddine Hadj Ali Salem with Jameleddine Limam three minutes later. The change appeared to favour the visitors who mounted pressure and wasted five corner kicks between the 36th and 40th minutes. Strongman Edward Agyeman Duah was cautioned just before the break for rough play. Goldfields resumed the second session aggressively but Brahima Kone and Noutsoudje wasted two good chances in the 47th and 49th minutes respectively. Africaine's keeper Zitouni was shown the yellow card in the 56th minute for dissent. With Goldfields attacking in waves, the Tunisians mounted an effective off side trap that caught the "miners" seven times. George Alhassan took over from Kone, who was a pale shadow of himself throughout the 60 minutes he was on the field. The strategy momentarily frustrated their moves but with the crowd rooting for more goals, Goldfields responded and ventured up front again. Boateng received a long ball on the wing and out-paced his marker with sheer speed down the wing. His cross, which beat keeper Zitouni, was pushed home by in-rushing Noutsoudje for the second goal in the 74th minute. Both sides made substitutions but that did not affect the trend of the game till the final whistle.