Tunisian giants Espérance warmed up for their Saturday Caf Champions League second round first leg match against Dynamos with a 2-0 win over Gabes to move seven points clear of second-placed Birzetin.
Espérance and Dynamos clash on Saturday night in Africa’s premier league club competition at the Olympique de Rades Stadium at 4pm. Dynamos are expected to leave this afternoon via South Africa and Germany.
Karim Ben Aouadhi struck in the 67th minute before Cameroon international Yannick Ndjeng added the second in the 88th minute to seal another set of maximum points and move the giants to 40 points from 15 matches.
They have won 13 times this season, lost one and drawn once.
Ndjeng is the leading scorer in the Tunisian league with 10 goals in 13 matches while teammate Youssef Msakni has netted nine from the same number of games. The pair has contributed 19 of the 29 goals scored so far.
In return, the defence has let in six goals.
But Espérance should also be wary of Dynamos’ 4-1 destructing of Black Mambas on Sunday which gave them their second win the 2012 Castle Lager Premier Soccer League and pushed them to sixth place.
Rodreck Mutuma scored for the first time this season, not once but twice, while Takesure Chinyama, as usual, scored together with Denver Mukamba. The champions have scored seven times with four coming from Chinyama.
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What is vital for coach Calisto Pasuwa is that Mutuma, last year’s leading scorer with 14 goals, is back on the scoring charts. The win comes after three straight defeats at the hands of Monomotapa, Motor Action and Hwange.
When Dynamos return from Tunisia, they will travel straight to Bulawayo for a date with resurgent Highlanders at Barbourfields.
With a game in hand, Dynamos are four points behind surprise leaders Chicken Inn — the only team in the league which is yet to lose and concede a goal this season.
Shabanie Mine picked up a crucial point at FC Platinum on Sunday with a double from Nelson Mazivisa while Charles Sibanda also scored twice as the Zvishavane Derby (Part One) ended in a 2-2 draw. Shabanie are second with eight points.
Highlanders were held to a 1-1 draw by Buffaloes at Sakubva to remain third with seven points while Monomotapa lost 2-0 Gunners to drop to fourth. Motor Action had it easy in Bulawayo, winning 3-0 against struggling Quelaton.
Week five fixtures Highlanders v Dynamos (postponed), Gunners v Caps United, Motor Action v Blue Rangers, Black Mambas v Monomotapa, Harare City v Quelaton, Chicken Inn v FC Platinum, Hwange v Buffaloes
