Trailing 5-0 from the first leg, Esperance would probably have to score an early goal against Mazembe in Saturday's Champions League final but coach Faouzi Benzarti says there will be no need to panic if they fail to do so. The Tunisian outfit virtually lost hopes of lifting the African prestigious title for the second time in their history when they suffered a humiliating defeat at holders Mazembe of DR Congo. Esperance have a hope in hell of overturning the huge deficit but Benzarti is still determined to lead his side to a remarkable comeback which would go down in history as one of the football's greatest upsets. "Each encounter has its strategy. We will fight hard to make our usual collective play style work on Saturday," he said in an interview with Cafonline.com. "Our traditional mental virtues; camaraderie, solidarity and generosity can inspire us meet the challenge." Benzarti was heavily criticized by Tunisian media for Esperance's stunning poor showing in the first leg although they felt unfairly treated by referee Kokou Djaoupe. The Togolese official allowed a controversial Mazembe goal to stand, awarded them a debatable penalty and sent off Esperance's Mohamed Ben Mansour for no apparent reason. Esperance, who eliminated Cairo giants Ahli in the semi final in equally controversial fashion after Nigerian striker Michael Eneramo used his forearm to score in the 1-0 second-leg win, will be spurred by their enthusiastic supporters to notch an early goal. But Benzarti doesn't want his players to be distracted if they fail to find the net by the quarter-hour mark. "Without doubt, we must admit that the mission will be difficult," the 60-year-old, who has plenty of coaching experience, added. "But, we will do all to score goals. If we do not score in the first fifteen minutes of the game, we do need to panic or lose hope. "We have to be patient and stay focused."
