The Carthage Eagles came out pushing for an early lead with flashes of chances in the first quarter of the game.
At the half hour mark Tunisia had 6 attempts with no shots on target. The likes of Anis Ben Slimane, Hamza Rafia and Seifeddine Jaziri were in thick of things in attack for Tunisia but couldn’t find any real openings in the Gambia defense line.
The North African’s first attempt on target finally came from the spot with Seifeddine Jaziri drawing a foul in the penalty area. Modou Jagne the culprit committing the foul on Jaziri. However, the opportunity was squandered as Gambia Keeper Baboucarr Gaye stopped Jaziri’s penalty just before the halftime interval.
Disaster struck for Tunisia when their reserve keeper Farouk Ben Mustapha saw red for violent conduct and was dismissed from the bench.
This meant he will miss two games. It was 0-0 at the end of the first 45 minutes.