Bayelsa United coach Diepreye Teibowei says his team performed below his expectation against CS Sfaxien in their CAF Confederation Cup fixture in Yenagoa on Sunday but hailed his players for securing a 1-0 win against the experienced Tunisian outfit.

Victory Beniangba lived up to his name, scoring the winner in the 56th-minute to hand Teibowei’s side the victory in the first leg of the second preliminary round tie against the most successful side in the competition, Sfaxien.

Speaking after the match, the Bayelsa United gaffer said he expected his side to secure a bigger win against the 3-time winners of the competition to make the second leg in Tunisia a mere formality.

“Actually, I will not say I’m disappointed, but it was not my expectation, because we are playing against an experienced side,” he said.  “My expectation was, at least, if we are able to win with a wide margin, going back to play them in Tunis will be a formality.

“But now, I’m not saying that we are not going to go there and get the desired result. If they can come here and play us this way, we can equally go there and play them the same way.

“So, for the fact that we’ve won 1-nil, I must say I appreciate the players for their efforts and that I am happy that we won.”

The UEFA-Licensed coach, however, rued his side’s missed chances in the game, but remains confident the 2009 semi-finalists will advance to the next round over two legs.

“For Bayelsa United, we have played home, we have won 1-0, we’ve been able to see the so-called CS Sfaxien that people thought were invincible,” he added.

“If my team had taken their chances in the first half, it’s a team (CS Sfaxien) that we would have beaten 3 to 4-0 today (Sunday). They had their few chances, so, maybe, the game would have been otherwise.

“But for today’s (Sunday’s) game, they are a very good side. So, for us to come up and overpower them by a lone goal, I think I’m very happy.

“We’ll take this positive result, go to Tunis and come back with victory, by the grace of God.”