Lua Lua off as Tunisia romp home
Newcastle United forward Lua Lua, captain of his country, kicked out at marker Jaohar Mnari off the ball. Although the Tunisian certainly made the most of the incident, it earned the striker a red card.
There were disturbing scenes in the aftermath of the Congo skipper's exit from the field as he had to be hauled back and restrained from continuing his argument against the decision.
That flashpoint sparked a drab affair into life with Kaies Ghodhbane missing the only chance of the opening stages in a bruising encounter.
At least an injury to Mohamed Jedidi, caused by one of several reckless challenges, allowed Francileudo Dos Santos the chance to show his worth after being surprisingly left on the bench by Roger Lemerre.
Lua Lua had been causing problems, playing the ball across goal after one blistering run, before his untimely altercation with Mnari, and Dieudonne Kalulika headed wastefully wide following fine work from Alan Masudi as Congo impressed sporadically.
However, the second period belonged to the host nation with Dos Santos smashing home the opener after 56 minutes. Hatem Trabelsi's introduction at the interval made a real difference as he burst down the right and, when Papy Lukata spilled the cross, the Brazil-born attacker pounced to flash home a textbook drive.
Cyrille Mubiala did head into the side-netting for Congo, but the ten men were soon 2-0 down when Trabelsi again powered down the flank and Santos's mis-hit volley fell kindly for Najeh Braham to net from close range.
Dos Santos and Brahim went close to adding to their tallies before the Sochaux star rounded things off with a late third, applying a neat finish to Ghodhbane's pass after being left in a one-on-one situation with Lukata.
Tresor Luntala shot straight at Ali Boumnjel and the keeper was less than convincing from another long range attempt, but Tunisia were worthy winners over the ten men.
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