4th February, 2016
Mali who sent Nigeria out of the African Nations Championship in Rwanda, has qualified for the final on Sunday , after edging out Ivory Coast with a lone goal, scored in the dying minutes of the regulation time.
Substitute Yves Bissouma. who was named the Orange Man of the Match, scored the winner two minutes from time to send Mali into the final at the expense of Ivory Coast in their semi-final match on Thursday in Kigali.
Bissouma struck on the 88 minutes as ‘Les Aiglons’ reached the final of the tournament designed exclusively for footballers playing in their domestic leagues for the first time.
It was a deserving win for Mali who even missed a penalty in the first half and was by far the better side in the second half.
Mali will now face DR Congo in Sunday’s final, while Ivory Coast will tackle Guinea in the battle for bronze.
It was the Ivorians who took the game to the Malians in the opening minutes. ‘Les Elephants almost broke the deadlock on nine minutes when Essis Aka’s shot bounced off the post with Mali goalie Djigui Diarra completely beaten.
The pendulum then swung the direction of the Malians and Sekou Koita forced a superb save from Ivorian goalie Badra Ali Sangare on 27 minutes.
Four minutes later, ‘Les Aiglons’ were rewarded a penalty after Cheikh Ibrahim Comara handled in the vital area. However, Sangare denied Mamadou Coulibaly with a good save from the spot.
The second half belonged to Mali and they dominated possession, but found the Ivorian backline a nut too hard to crack.
Substitute Nguessan Kouame and Koita troubled the Ivorian defence often with the former missing a golden chance to put his side up on 58 minutes.
The introduction of Bissouma gave the Malians more option in attack and two minutes from time a cross from Sekou Diarra found Hamidou Sinayoko, who headed to Bissouma to slot home past Ali Badra.
*With reports by Cafonline.com