By Durosimi Thomas BBC Sport, Tunis

Esperance still confident of reaching the Champions League final

Esperance are confident of qualifying for the Champions League final, despite losing 3-1 to Egyptians Ismaili in the first leg of their semi-final.

Esperance vice president, Mahmoud Babbou who was in Port Said for the game, said his side are capable of reversing the score in the return-leg.

"I think we can stage a come back, but I must admit the players are a little bit disappointed.

"Everything went wrong in the last minutes of the game," Babbou told the BBC Sport website in Tunis.

"But this defeat should not be blown out of proportion, as it could have happened to any team.

"It was a frustrating defeat because both sides played well - we had our good moments and so did Ismaili.

"The late penalty unsettled our defence and then we conceded two goals after the red card.

"We have players with enough quality to get over this defeat and move forward, in fact our name 'Esperance' means hope and we will live up to that.

"We know exactly what we have to do: score two goals and not concede any," Babbou said.

Radhi Jaidi's away goal for Esperance, the first ever scored by the Tunisian club in Egypt, could prove vital.