Afful scores late winner for Esperance

Ghana defender Harrison Afful stole the show on Sunday when Esperance travelled to Cameroonian side Cosmos Football Academy De Bafia in the first leg of the second qualifying stage of the Caf Champions League.

The right-back was the hero of the contest as his sole goal gave the North Africans a valuable away victory.

The match was heading for a goalless draw when Afful popped up in the dying embers to silence the fans at the Stade de Reunification in Douala.

He met a cross with a simple tap-in to hand the Tunisian giants a fine advantage ahead of the second leg in Tunis.

Afful is chasing a second Caf Champions League title with Esperance after helping the Blood & Gold to win the title in 2011. He is remembered for scoring the only goal in the 2011 final against Wydad Casablanca after coming off the bench.

He has been by far one of the most active and successful Ghanaian players abroad in the last five years.

The Gomoa Feteh Feyenoord Academy product joined Esperance in 2009 after two seasons at Kumasi Asante Kotoko.

He was part of Ghana’s 2008 Afcon squad but only played one game against Ivory Coast in the third place play-off.

Recently, he has established himself as a key member of the Ghana squad, having featured as a starter in the 2013 and 2015 Afcons and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.