Tunis — Sierra Leone Premier League champions East End Lions FC suffered a heavy defeat last night in the first leg of their CAF Champions League preliminary round tie, going down 4–0 to Tunisian side US Monastir.
The damage was done early. An own goal by East End Lions defender Aboubacar Bari in the 35th minute opened the scoring.
Monastir then piled on the pressure after the break, with Yassine Amri doubling their advantage in the 61st minute. Late goals from Chérif Bodian (89′) and Malcolm Elhmidi deep in stoppage time (90′+5) sealed the emphatic win.
For the Lions, the result marks a sobering introduction to continental competition this season.
They will now head into the return leg under intense pressure, needing a huge effort to overturn a four-goal deficit. Monastir, on the other hand, have set themselves up comfortably to advance.
The second leg is scheduled to take place in Sierra Leone between September 26-28.
