AFRICAN NATIONS CUP/Angola 4 Mali 4:MUSTAPHA YATABARE slid in a dramatic equaliser deep into stoppage time to help Mali complete an astonishing comeback in the opening match of the African Nations Cup against in Luanda last night.
Trailing 4-0 and seemingly playing for pride after a brace from Flavio Amado and penalties from Gilberto and Manucho had put the home side in front with just 11 minutes remaining, Seydou Keita gave the Eagles hope when he scrambled the ball home from a Carlos Fernandes error.
Frederic Kanoute then glanced home a fine header to halve the deficit in the 87th minute, before a second from Keita in time added on and Yatabare’s effort completed a sensational turnaround which stunned the home fans at the Estadio 11 de Novembro.
It all looked so different moments earlier after the Black Antelopes had raced ahead to help lift a sombre mood on day one of the competition, which has been marred by an attack on the Togo team which left three people dead.
The Eagles, who looked nervous throughout the opening half, slowly began to improve and their first real sniff of goal came after 20 minutes, but Modibo Maiga squandered the chance when his back-heeled pass on the edge of the penalty area failed to find a team-mate.
The Angolans were forced into an early change three minutes later when Dede had to go off with what looked like an ankle injury.
His replacement, Djalma Campos, had the best opening of the two sides just after the half-hour mark when Mabina’s pinpoint cross from the right was met with a powerful header at the near post, which was unfortunately straight at Mahamadou Sidibe.
But the hosts did not have much longer to wait for the opening, which came in the 37th minute.
It came when the visitors needlessly brought down Manucho just outside the penalty area on the left. Gilberto cleverly sought out Flavio with the free-kick instead of going for goal and his cross was powerfully met by the Al-Shabab striker to leave Sidibe stranded.
The Malians were rocked and it was 2-0 five minutes later when Mabina found an unmarked Flavio with his cross from the right and the ball was again impressively headed in to hand the hosts a half-time lead.
The Eagles began promisingly after the break and should have equalised when a cross from the right found Mahamadou Diarra unmarked at the back post, but he took his time, giving goalkeeper Carlos Fernandes time to make an acrobatic save.
Constant pressure from Mali came to nothing, and Angola went 3-0 up in the 67th minute after a fine counter-attack led to Mamadou Bagayoko bringing down Gilberto in the penalty area.
The Al-Ahly midfielder stood up to take the spot-kick himself – and scored with both attempts after he was asked to retake his first one due to players entering the box too early.
Seven minutes later Keita bizarrely conceded another penalty when Gilberto was again hauled back in the area. This time Manucho stepped forward to send Sidibe the wrong way.
There was still time for Mali to attempt a comeback and they were gifted a goal 11 minutes from the end when Fernandes spilt a poor corner and Keita bundled the ball in.
Kanoute halved the deficit with a powerful header with three minutes left, and when the fourth official signalled four additional minutes it seemed to deflate the hosts.
They took their foot of the pedal and Keita’s angled finish was followed by Yatabare’s 94th-minute goal – after Fernandes could only parry into his path – to hand Stephen Keshi’s side a share of the spoils.
Mali’s Seydou Keita believes the psychological boost from their remarkable comeback will stand them in good stead.
Barcelona midfielder Keita said: “There was a lot of pressure on us. I conceded a penalty and they kept scoring. I just couldn’t imagine we could fight back like that.
“We wanted to win but of course we are happy to get a point in the end.
“We were bad in the first half, mentally we weren’t really at the races. It didn’t look like we would get anything but luckily we managed to get a point and we are happy.
“It’s good for us mentally, our confidence, but we have to be careful to not make too many mistakes. There is a lot to correct before the next match.”
ANGOLA: Carlos Alberto, Kali, Marques, Stelvio Cruz, Xara, Dede (Djalma 25), Zuela, Gilberto (Guilherme 81), Mabina, Flavio (Love 83), Manucho. Subs not used: Lama, Jamuana, Caires, Magalhaes, Job, Johnson, Mantorras, Alegre, Ze Kalanga. Booked: Stelvio Cruz, Xara.
MALI: Sidibe, Diamoutene, Berthe, Tamboura, Soumare, Diarra, El Hadj Traore, Bakaye Traore (Fane 57), Bagayoko (Yatabare 75), Modibo Maiga (Keita 34), Kanoute. Subs not used: Diakite, Diallo, Abdallaye Maiga, Ndiaye, Samassa, Mohamed Sissoko, Oumar Sissoko, Sow, Abdou Traore. Booked: Soumare, El Hadj Traore, Keita, Diarra.
Referee: Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)
