JOHANNESBURG - High profile Frenchman Roger Lemerre ended a seven-year reign as Tunisia coach with a stormy 2-1 victory over Burundi in a 2010 World Cup-African Nations Cup qualifier this weekend.
The Group 9 clash near Tunis erupted midway through the opening half when visiting goalkeeper Janvier Ndikumana was sent off after conceding a penalty and a nine-minute protest ensued before Chaouki Ben Saada converted the kick.
Prolific scorer Issam Jomaa added a second goal on 43 minutes only for 10-man Burundi to reduce arrears nine minutes into first half stoppage time through Henry Mbazumutima.
It was the third consecutive win for the Carthage Eagles and they remain three points behind surprise pacesetters Burkina Faso, who walloped lowly Seychelles 4-1 in Ouagadougou.
Media-shy Lemerre, the only coach to win European Championship and African Nations Cup titles, stands down after establishing Tunisia as one of the leading football nations on the continent.
But they made a timid first round exit from the 2006 World Cup in Germany after securing just one point from a possible nine and quarter-finals exits from the 2006 and 2008 Nations Cup tournaments did not match expectations.
When Tunisia said they would not renew his contract at the end of June, Lemerre was sought by several African national teams and he opted to take over Morocco from next month.
Burkina Faso stunned Tunisia with a 2-1 away win in the first series of qualifiers at the beginning of this month and another three victories have put them on the verge of progressing to the final phase.
A draw at home to Tunisia in September would ensure top spot for a team coached by Portuguese Paulo Duarte while the north Africans are also set to advance, probably as one of the best eight runners-up from the 12 groups.
The only surprise in Ouagadougou was the failure of France-based Burkinabe striker Mamadou Dagano to find the net after claiming five against Burundi and the Seychelles in the previous two qualifiers.
Charles Kabore and Mamamoudou Kere gave the Stallions a two-goal advantage, Bernard Saint-Ange pulled one back on the stroke of half-time and Boureima Ouattara and Issouf Kone were on target in the second half.
Morocco exacted revenge for a shock Group 8 away loss to Rwanda last weekend by winning 2-0 in Casablanca through goals from Youssef Safri and Nabil al-Zhar at the Mohamed V Stadium.
There were no goals this time for Kigali stars Olivier Karekezi, Said Makasi and Bokota Labama and the Wasps were stung midway through the second half when two yellow cards within seven mintues led to the expulsion of Elias Ntaganda.
Senegal stayed on course to win Group 6 by outplaying Liberia 3-1 in Dakar courtesy of goals from Ibrahima Sonko, twice African Footballer of the Year El-Hadji Diouf and substitute Henri Camara.
Another substitute, Zah Krangar, snatched a last-minute consolation goal for the Lone Stars, who have just two points from four matches under young German coach Antoine Hey and no hope of making the next round.
The qualifying competition will produce five countries to join hosts South Africa at the World Cup and 15 to compete with Angola for the Nations Cup five months earlier.
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