Sun Downs defeats Esperance in Tunisia

The South African club “Sun Downs” won a valuable and historic victory, beating its host Esperance of Tunisia, 1-0, today, Sunday, in the first leg of the African Champions League semi-final.

Colombian Brian Leon scored the visitors' only goal in the 51st minute of the match, which was held at Hammadi Al-Aqrabi Stadium in Rades.

The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervened to cancel Esperance's goal in the 70th minute, scored by Aboubacar Diakite, due to a violation against Sun Downs goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.

The South African team withstood its opponent despite the numerical deficiency in its ranks, after defender Grant Kekana was sent off with a red card in the 84th minute, achieving a valuable victory with ten players.

This is Sun Downs' first victory in the stronghold of Esperance, after the Tunisian team achieved two victories and three draws in five previous matches among its fans.

At the level of historical matches, Sun Downs achieved its third victory compared to Esperance’s four victories, while draws were present in four other matches.

This victory enhances the chances of Sun Downs, who won the Champions League title in 2016, to reach the final for the fourth time in its history and the second in a row, after losing the title twice in the final in 2001 and 2025 to Al-Ahly and Pyramids from Egypt.

As for Esperance, led by its French coach Patrice Baumel, it will face a difficult task in the return leg in Pretoria to reach the final of the competition for the tenth time in its history, after winning the title four times, most recently in 2019.

The winner of this confrontation will qualify to face the winner of the Moroccan derby between the Royal Army, which won 2-0 in the first leg over its rival RS Berkane, yesterday, Saturday, in the first leg.