SOWETO: Etoile Sahel of Tunisia became favourites to win the CAF Confederation Cup a second time after snatching a late 1-1 draw at Orlando Pirates of South Africa Saturday.
Captain and centre-back Ammar Jemal slammed a loose ball beyond goalkeeper Felipe Ovono from close range with three minutes left in the first leg of the final to silence most of the 30,000 Soweto crowd.
Thamsanqa Gabuza put Pirates ahead on 36 minutes at Orlando Stadium with a fierce acute-angle shot past Zied Jebali, who started after first choice goalkeeper and captain Aymen Mathlouthi failed a fitness test.
Etoile host the return match at the 25,000-seat Stade Olympique in Mediterranean resort Sousse next Sunday and a goalless draw will bring the Confederation Cup back to the club after an eight-year absence.
A 1-1 draw at FAR Rabat of Morocco set the Tunisians up for their 2006 triumph with a stormy second leg ending 0-0 and Etoile succeeding on the away-goal rule.
Pirates are hoping to became the first South African winners of a CAF club competition since Kaizer Chiefs lifted the now defunct African Cup Winners Cup 14 years ago.
The Buccaneers have scored in all seven away matches en route to the final of the second-tier African competition and must do so again in Sousse to have a chance of overall success.
"We neither gained nor lost anything after this result," said Pirates coach Eric Tinkler. "The destiny of the trophy remains wide open.
"Of course we wanted to keep a clean sheet at home and a lapse of concentration gave Etoile a late equaliser. I thought we defended well until then.
"Etoile are a good team -- well organised defensively with some big, strong boys. However, some of them dived so much I thought they were swimming at the Olympics.
"What the draw means is that instead of them coming at us in Tunisia, we will have to go at them. Scoring in every away CAF match this season gives us confidence."
Pirates were lucky to be ahead at half-time after Iheb Msakni had a goal ruled offside and star Algeria-born striker Baghdad Bounedjah and Hamza Lahmar went close.
Bounedjah beat onrushing Ovono to the ball only for his shot to trickle wide while Lahmar forced a reflex save from the Equatoguinean goalkeeper.
Lahmar came even closer just past the hour as his free-kick flew over off the crossbar with Ovono beaten.
A cagey second half lacked the pace and goalmouth drama of the opening 45 minutes with Etoile largely content to contain Pirates.
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