Club Africain reach African Confederation Cup final
Last updated on .From the section Football
Club Africain of Tunisia reached the final of the Confederation Cup on Saturday despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Sunshine Stars in Tunis.
The Nigerians paid the price for a 1-0 home loss two weeks ago in the second-tier African club competition.
It completed a miserable month for Nigerian after some recent failures.
In early October, Nigeria failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 1986 after drawing at home to Guinea.
Shortly after, Enyimba made a timid African Champions League semi-finals exit at the hands of Morocco's Wydad Casablanca.
On Saturday, fans were barred from the 45,000-capacity Al-Menzah Stadium in the Tunisian capital as a punishment after crowd trouble halted a group match against Asec Mimosas for 30 minutes in September.
The football did little to enliven a morgue-like atmosphere with the teams extremely cautious, especially a Tunisian side who knew that a draw would suffice to secure a place in the final.
Club Africain, who have been continuously overshadowed at international level by arch Tunis rivals Esperance, won the African Champions Cup 20 years ago and have been African Cup Winners Cup runners-up twice.
Victory over Sunshine kept Tunisia on course for a continental club double, as Esperance have qualified for the African Champions League final against Wydad Casablanca with the first leg in Morocco next Sunday.
Club Africain could also face Moroccan opponents as MAS are favoured to overcome Angolan visitors InterClube on Sunday despite trailing 2-1 from the first leg in Luanda.
