Enyimba's players celebrate but they face an uphill struggle in the return leg

Substitute Eric Fasindo scored a late equaliser as holders Enyimba were held to a 1-1 draw by Esperance in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie in Abia State on Sunday.

The Tunisians will no doubt be the happier of the two teams as they survived a frenetic stoppage time onslaught following Fasindo's 90th-minute goal.

Esperance had seemed on their way to a priceless victory when midfielder Jaouar Mnari scored with a sensational right-footed volley from the edge of the Enyimba box with only 13 minutes to go.

The goal came against the run of play as Esperance spent most of the afternoon pegged back inside their own half.

The Tunisian side made their intentions of settling for a draw clear by stringing five players across the back, inviting Enyimba to come at them.

Not surprisingly, their goalkeeper Jean-Jacques Tizie was by far the busiest player on the pitch.

Yet it could have been different for the home team had striker Emeka Nwanna put away one of two good chances which came his way in the first half.

Meanwhile, Esperance striker Ali Zitouni, who must have felt very lonely playing as the sole striker against a four-man Enyimba defence, also had a great chance to give his side the lead in the 10th minute during a rare foray upfield.

With the Enyimba defence waiting in vain for the offside flag, Zitouni found himself unmarked in the six-yard area but headed over the bar from close range.