Esperance hopeful despite CAF Champions League Mazembe mauling

Esperance have not written off their chances of CAF Champions League glory against TP Mazembe in Tunis on Saturday, despite the five-goal thrashing they received in the first leg of the final.

Ten-man Esperance were drubbed 5-0 by defending champions Mazembe at the Stade de la Kenya in Lubumbashi a fortnight ago, in the first leg of the final of Africa’s biggest club competition.

The Blood and Gold, African champions in 1994 and beaten finalists in 1999 and 2000, blamed their heavy loss on how Togolese referee Kokou Djaoupe handled the encounter.

Tunisia’s Esperance trounced the DR Congo team 3-0 in a group game earlier in this year’s competition, with tournament leading scorer Michael Eneramo hitting a brace.

“We have not lost hope because in football nothing is impossible. Who says we cannot score five, six goals at home on Saturday?” asked the Nigeria striker, who has netted nine goals thus far in the tournament.

“Team spirit is very high as we all have confidence in ourselves.”

Mazembe produced a lesson in attacking football, with striker Ngandu Kasongo and Zambia ace Given Singuluma each claiming a double, but Eneramo insists the referee was responsible for the rout.

“It was very unfortunate that the referee was very unfair and biased against my team in the first leg,” he said.

“This ensured that we lost concentration in the game.”

Mazembe, or Les Corbeaux (The Crows), are on track to making history as the first team to win this competition back-to-back twice, having already successfully defended their continental crown in 1968.

The champions have stayed on course despite being without their talismanic skipper Tresor Mabi Mputu, who was banned for a year by FIFA following a fracas in a regional tournament earlier in the year.

Such is the importance of Mputu that club president Moise Katumbi previously admitted that the absence of the talented midfielder could cost them this year’s title.

“Tresor is Tresor, he’s the kind of player who you get to see once in 20, 30 years,” lamented Katumbi.

“With him in the team, we have a 99 percent chance of retaining our trophy. Without him, we will have to fight.”

The winners of this year’s competition will pocket prize money of 1.5 million dollars and receive the right to represent Africa at the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup in the United Arab Emirates in December.