Caf Champions League
Saturday Group A results
KCCA 0-1 Esperance
Township Rollers 0-1 Al Ahly
Ten-man KCCA went down fighting 1-0 to Esperance of Tunisia at Namboole on Saturday, a result that saw their chances of progressing to the Caf Champions League quarterfinals diminish further.
Substitute Haythem Jouini’s first half goal was enough for Esperance to complete a double over Uganda’s representatives over a week after they fell 3-2 in Tunis.
This was also the first time KCCA were losing at home since Mike Mutebi took over as coach three years ago.
Defeat leaves both KCCA and Botswana’s Township Rollers, who also lost 1-0 to Egypt’s Al Ahly on the same day, bottom on three points apiece after four matches.
Esperance top Group A on 10 points with only two games to go while Ahly are second on seven.
Ahly’s win meant Esperance qualified for the last eight, with the Egyptians are primed to join them with two games to go.
KCCA started brightly with Allan Okello and Muzamir Mutyaba combining well upfront but the Tunisians were unmoved.
But when Esperance broke the other end, they capitalized decisively. A long ball over KCCA’s last line of defence landed on Jouini’s feet, the striker controlling inside the box and beating Charles Lukwago for a 41st minute lead.
KCCA never recovered. Using experience, Esperance held on to see the game out. But there was still some time in dying minutes for Lukwago to be sent off for protestations as the goalkeeper harangued the referee over a time-wasting Tunisian player.