How Bayelsa United capitulated in Sfax and crashed out of the CAF Confederation Cup

Bayelsa United went into the game with a slim 1-0 cushion from the first leg. 

They are hoping to create one of the biggest upsets of the phase but it turned out to be a massacre as CS Sfaxien went three goals up before the half-hour mark. 

Ending all hopes of creating an upset and fading off the chances of any comebacks on the minds of the Yenogoa based team.

The Tunisian side came all out at the Stade Taieb Mhiri Stadium, ready to erase the one-goal deficit as well as to make a statement that the defeat in Yenogoa was just a slip. 

The black and white started like a house on fire forcing two saves from the Bayelsa United goalkeeper, John Shuaibu, in one of the early incursions in the area after a quick exchange of short passes in the through the middle.

The home team early pressure paid off in the11th minute when Chris Kouakou feasted on loose defending from Bayelsa backline to give CS Sfaxien an early lead to bring the aggregate score line to 1-1. 

The Tunisian side continue to deny the inexperienced Nigerian side bulk of the possession and the ball rested at the back through Mohamed Ben Ali effort in the 17th minute to go top by 2-0. 

The Aiteo Champion defensive game plan was not working and they were more offensive searching for an away game goal that could swing the game in their favor. 

This further exposed the team at back leaking two more goals in the 27th and 40thh minutes by Aymen Harzi and Fares Chawat respectively.

The high ambition of the Yenogoa was shredded in the first half as the home team dropped their level of urgency in the second half and ease off to a comfortable 4-1 aggregate score line, having ended the second half on a goalless draw.

Going by the pedigree of the Tunisians, there is no shame in losing to one of the biggest sides on the continent.  

The Nigerian team will take solace in defeating the North African giant by 1-0 in the first leg of the second round preliminary round of the competition courtesy of Victory Beniangba's 55th-minute strike. 

That In itself shows the level of potential in the team and it should serve as a source of motivation for the team to put in more and come back bigger next season.

Bayelsa United are playing in the Nigeria National League ( NNL), a second-tier division in Nigeria but qualify for the continent by winning the AITEO cup in 2021.  

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Olusola Adebayo is a highly-skilled, enthusiastic, self-motivated writer with over 10 successful years of experience. 

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