Elias Mokwana's Esperance defeated Los Angeles FC 1-0 to secure their first win in the FIFA Club World Cup group stages on Saturday.
The South African attacker was handed his first start of the competition and came in to replace Yan Sasse on the right of the Esperance attack.
Maher Kanzari's charges dominated possession in the early stages of the encounter and managed to carve out attempts from Youcef Belaïli and Mokwana inside the opening 20 minutes.
The MLS side had the ball in the back of the net in the 27th minute through David Martínez's first-time strike in the box, however the goal did not stand as the LAFC forward was offside in the build-up.
LAFC continued to enjoy more of the ball as the first half went on, but they were by Esperance defenders at every attempt to enter the final third.
The Tunisians were awarded a penalty five minutes after the break when Belaili went down in the box, however the referee reverse his decision after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review and booked the Esperance player for diving.
Mokwana's evening ended on the hour mark as the Bafana winger made way for Yann Sasse, while Esperance also threw on Jabir for Rodrigo Ro
Esperance would go on to break the deadlock on 71 minutes when Belaili showed great composure to weave his way into the six-yard area before firing home his first goal of the competition.
Even with some of the missed chances in the closing stages, goalkeeper Bechir Ben Saïd ensured Esperance walked away the spoils has he pulled off a great save to keep out Denis Bouanga's penalty in the 97th minute.
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
