A late strike from Issam Jemaa saw Tunisia to a vital 2-1 win over Niger in their Africa Cup of Nations match in Libreville on Friday.
The North Africans enjoyed a dream start to their match when Youssef Msakni slipped in from the left side, dribbling past the entire defence before slotting in the first goal on four minutes.
Zouhaier Dhaouadi then had an opportunity to double the lead but his long distance effort missed the target.
Just as Tunisia were beginning to take control of the encounter, Niger scored against the run of play when Moussa Maazou used his hand to interfere with Tunisian goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi, resulting in a William Tonji Ngounou header drifting into the net.
The equaliser clearly unsettled the Tunisian players who struggled to get back into the match while Niger grew in confidence and had multiple opportunities to take the lead.
Maazou was a constant threat for the Tunisian defence and even saw a legitimate penalty shout turned down by the referee near the end of the first-half.
Looking for attacking solutions, Tunisia manager Sami Trabelsi replaced Amine Chermiti and Dhaouadi with Jemaa and Oussama Darragi to start the final 45 minutes.
Despite the changes the threats were mainly coming from a familiar source in the shape of Msakni.
On 63 minutes, Aymen Abdennour broke forward from central defence and rolled a left-footed shot onto Niger custodian Daouda Kassaly’s post.
With the game edging towards a stalemate, Tunisian all-time leading scorer Jemaa was on hand to score the winner on 90 minutes and deny a spirited Niger their first points at the continental tournament.
