KORHOGO, Cote d’ivoire
Mali are through to the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’ivoire 2023 quarter finals after a nail-biting 2-1 win over Burkina Faso on Tuesday in Korhogo.
An unfortunate own goal by
Edmond Tabsoba along with a second half strike by Lassine Sinayoko were enough
for the Eagles to soar over the Stallions at a packed Amadou Gon Coulibaly
Stadium.
It took just 3 minutes for
Mali to take the lead after a powerful Amadou Haidara header came off the
woodwork, but instead of it being cleared away, Edmond Tabsoba was unfortunate
to see his clearance go into his own net.
Minutes later, Kamory Doumbia,
who was a handful for the Burkinabe defense almost doubled his side’s lead
after a great build up saw him through on goal, but his effort was denied by
the advancing Kouakou Koffi.
A golden opportunity fell the
way of the in-form Sinayoko to double the lead after doing well to turn his
marker to unleash a powerful effort that was denied by the alert Koffi in the
35th minute.
Carried by the momentum, the
Eagles continued surging forward but wasted numerous opportunities as they took
the slender lead into the break.
Returning from the recess,
Sinayoko capitalized on a lapse of concentration after beating the offside trap
to face the keeper and comfortably slot home with just minutes into the
restart.
A lifeline was given to the
Stallions after Mohamed Konate’s headed effort came off the arm of Boubacar
Kouyate for VAR to award the penalty that was converted by skipper, Bertrand
Traore in the 57th minute.
The Stallions eventually
gained their rhythm and piled on the pressure, but a resolute Mali defense kept
them at bay, as the Eagles soar into the quarter-finals to face tournament
hosts, Cote d’Ivoire on Saturday, 3 February in Bouake.
Mali: Diarra,
Traore, Kouyate, Niakate, Sacko, Camara (Fofana 93’), Coulibaly, Haidara
(Samassekou 74’), Doumbia, Sinayoko (B. Traore 93’), Traore
Burkina Faso:
Koffi, Yago (Badolo 46’), Tapsoba, Dayo, Kabore, Toure, Ouedraogo (Banse 68’),
Sangare (Ki 87’), A.Tapsoba (Nagalo 46’), Konate, B.Traore ( Ouattara 77’)
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