Esperance Tunis coach vents Sundowns game frustrations

Espérance Tunis coach Patrice Beaumelle has vented his frustrations from Sunday’s 0-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns in Tunisia.

The Frenchman singled out the most disappointing aspect from the CAF Champions League semifinal, first leg defeat, according to LaPresse.

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WHAT A GOAL ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/K9l9e7uYk8

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“I am very disappointed, not just by the defeat, but especially because the scoreline doesn’t reflect the match,” Beaumelle said as translated in French. “We were more aggressive, more committed, and we managed to create several clear chances.”

Beaumelle sends message to Sundowns

The former Angola national team mentor said he was at pains to accept the result because it hardly reflects their performance in the semifinal, second leg.

“Nothing is decided at this stage: no team has qualified or been eliminated. The decision will be made in the second leg, where we absolutely must be more efficient and more clinical,” the coach added.

“Unlike our match in Cairo, where we showed two different sides, our performance was consistent and generally good throughout the game.

“We even scored a goal that was disallowed, and I regret that the review took so long, as it disrupted our momentum at a crucial moment. I remain fully confident in my players’ ability to react and secure qualification in Pretoria.”

Cardoso cautious despite advantage

In a separate post-match interview, Sundowns coach Miguel Cardoso cautioned his charges that the job is not yet done despite chalking the away victory.

“The attitude in Pretoria has to be much stronger, even more commitment, even more tactical strictness, even more control of the match and to play to win because when you don’t play to win, you can suffer and that is the only way the team knows to play,” he said.

Striker Brayan León scored the only important goal of the semifinal, first leg game. The Colombian rose above his marker in the box to head into the net from Khuliso Mudau’s right-flank high cut-back.

The maximum points collected on the road gave the 2016 CAF Champions League winners an advantage going into the reverse match scheduled for Pretoria on Saturday, 18 April.

Sundowns need either a draw or a win by any margin to sail through while Esperance will be required to register a two-goal margin victory to overcome the South African opposition.

The overall winner between Sundowns and Esperance will meet either AS FAR or RS Berkane in the Champions League final.