Tusker FC skipper Eugene Asike has lauded his teammates following their narrow loss to CS Sfaxien in the CAF Confederation Cup play-off return leg in Tunisia on Sunday night.Tusker lost by a solitary goal courtesy of Aymen Harzi from the spot after Ghaiith Maaroufi was hacked by Kalos Kirenge in the box prompting the referee to point to the spot.That was not the last of Kalos Kirenge as the Tanzanian was sent off at the death for a second bookable offense and the Brewers had to see off the stoppage time with a numerical disadvantage.The two teams had played out to a barren draw in the first leg at the Nyayo National Stadium and had all to play for in the second that the hosts looked obvious favorites heading into the game.FULL TIME IN SFAX. We fought till the end. pic.twitter.com/lObmFebWvf— 🏆Tusker FC (@tusker_fc) December 5, 2021 Despite being tossed out, Asike believes that the team put up a spirited fight in the return match and gave everything they had in the game, adding that they left with their spirits high.The skipper further noted that the outings in the CAF competitions have earned the team invaluable experiences that would come in handy, setting their sights now back to league action.”Great team effort. We left it all on the field. Disappointed to bow out of the tournament by a single goal but we leave with our heads held high. Lots of experience gained. Focus shifts back to the league. Proud of the boys,” Asike wrote on his social media pages.The Brewers dropped out of the top competition in the continent after falling 5-0 on aggregate to Zamalek SC in the second qualifying round, including a 4-0 drubbing away in Egypt.CS Sfaxien knocks out Tusker FC from CAF Confederation Cup after edging the Kenyan champions 1-0 in Sfax, Tunisia.— Geoffrey Mwamburi (@bekimwamburi) December 5, 2021 To get to that qualifying round, they had beaten Djibouti’s Arta Solar 7 4-1 on aggregate, including an emphatic 3-0 win at home but their encounter with two North African teams in both the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup saw them bid farewell to continental action, at least for this season.Back to the league, Tusker are set to resume action against Ulinzi Stars in the midweek clash but it is unlikely that the match will be played with the team yet to jet back to the country.Robert Matano’s charges are lurking in the relegation zone having played four matches and will be seeking to lift themselves of that area.
