Shooting Stars Secure Slim Victory Over CS Sfaxien

Shooting Stars marked their return to continental football with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien in the first leg of their CAF Confederation Cup first preliminary round tie at the Moshood Abiola Sports Complex, Abeokuta, on Saturday.

The encounter was the Ibadan club’s first appearance in continental competition since 1999.

Shooting Stars made a bright start to the contest, dominating the early exchanges and forcing the visitors to defend deep in their own half.

Their pressure eventually paid off in the 26th minute when Lucky Emmanuel struck the decisive goal to hand the hosts a deserved lead.

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CS Sfaxien stepped up their performance after the break as they searched for an equaliser, putting the Shooting Stars defence under sustained pressure.

The Tunisian side, however, found the hosts’ goalkeeper in inspired form, with the shot-stopper producing a number of crucial saves to preserve the slim advantage.

Shooting Stars held firm in the closing stages to secure an important first-leg victory and take a narrow advantage into the return fixture.

The reverse encounter will take place in Sfax next weekend, with the aggregate winner advancing to the second preliminary round of the competition.

By Adeboye Amosu