Chamseddine Dhaouadi kept his clam as nine-man Esperance de Tunis prevailed 6-5 in a dramatic penalty shootout win over CD Guadalajara in the fifth place match of the Fifa Club World Cup at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday.
The hard-fought encounter finished at 1-1 in regulation time.
And in the end, 11 penalty kicks were required to separate the teams. At 5-5, Guadalajara's Isaac Brizuela missed his spot kick and Dhaouadi converted to hand the African champions a come-from-behind consolidation win. It was a carnival atmosphere as fans inspired their players with chants, drumbeats and songs.
'Chivas', in their green jerseys, were off the block and they were soon rewarded for their efforts.
In the first minute, midfielder Walter Sandoval darted down the left flank, but his shot was blocked by Esperance keeper Rami Jeridi.
A video review showed that Chivas striker Angel Zaldivar was fouled inside the box by defender Sameh Derbali. And Sandoval smashed the penalty into bottom left corner of the goal to make it 1-0.
That early goal made Esperance push more men forward. The Tunisians tried to storm into the right side of the rival box only to stopped by defender Miguel Ponce.
Cameroonian midfielder Franck Kom hit few long rangers from the centre. And finally they got the breakthrough when they were awarded a penalty.
Mohammed Belaili took the corner where Kom's flick inside the box was blocked by defender Josecarlos Van Rankin. The referee allowed play to continue but the Tunisians persisted with their appeal.
A video review found Rankin guilty of handling the ball. And Belaili deposited the penalty shot to the bottom right to draw level.
It was an exciting battle between the two teams in the first half, but it turned into a cagey affair after the break. None of the players wanted to make errors.
There were some impressive moves from the midfield, but the strikers failed to find a way past determined defenders.
In the 78th minute, Esperance's Anice Badri got into a skirmish with Ponce and the rest of Chivas, resulting in a second yellow.
With 11 minutes left in the game, Esperance were down to 10 men.
'Chivas' pushed to take advantage and should have taken lead but a double save by keeper Jeridi saved Esperance.
Adding to the misery, Esperance were down to nine as Houcine Rebai was shown red for a sliding challenge.
With penalty shootout looming, Guadalajara replaced Raul Gudino with Miguel Jimenez and he saved two but it wasn't enough for the CONCACAF Champions League winners.
By Ashwani Kumar
