Espérance ST were on the verge of falling to an embarrassing home defeat on Saturday but Algerian star Youcef Belaïli provided a late equalizer to save a point in EST's 1-1 draw against US Ben Guerdane.
The former MC Alger and MC Oran star converted from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to restore parity. Iyed Belwafi put USBG ahead inside fifteen minutes after poor passing from the EST defense led to Adnene Yaakoubi's cross for the the forward, on loan from CS Sfaxien, to finish.
But after defending valiantly for the majority of the match, USBG could not hold on for the full three points. A free kick service from the left wing led to a foul in the penalty area and after a VAR review, a spot kick was confirmed for EST where Belaïli's shot was tipped by Noureddine Farhati but the ball went in off the post.
The result leaves the door open for EST's rivals to close the gap on the leaders, especially US Monastir who host Olympique Beja on Sunday. Third placed Club Africain failed to move closer after settling for a 0-0 draw at AS Soliman on Saturday.
Elsewhere on Saturday, CS Sfaxien also ended their match with a scoreless draw at US Tataouine while CA Bizertin were the only winner with a 2-0 result over AS Gabès. Tomorrow will see Monastir and Etoile du Sahel attempt to move within reach of EST. Etoile have a difficult test at home against ES Zarzis while USM will also be at home.
Saturday Results
US Tataouine 0-0 CS Sfaxien
Espérance ST 1-1 US Ben Guerdane
AS Soliman 0-0 Club Africain
CA Bizertin 2-0 AS Gabès
League Table (Top-5)
GP | Points | |
Espérance ST | 24 | 52 |
US Monastir | 23 | 47 |
Club Africain | 24 | 47 |
Etoile du Sahel | 23 | 46 |
ES Zarzis | 23 | 44 |
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