PAYNESVILLE, Montserrado – The 2018 WAFU U-20 Nations Cup continued on Wednesday, April 25 with the most exciting matches so far in the competition.
Unlike the first day where host Liberia bowed in an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Ivory Coast in a match heavily dominated by the Young Elephants, the second day of games produced more equally matched teams.
Two French-speaking countries took on each other in Mali versus Senegal. The two countries have some of the strongest youth teams on the continent, and the match was expected to a competitive one in front of the handful of supporters.
However, it was Mali that proved its supremacy in the end, with a hard fought 3-1 win. The Malians grabbed the three points, courtesy of Ndiaye Lasana’s brace and Drane Hadji lone goal.
Senegal was punished for missing their earlier chances when Mali took a well-deserved lead in the 24th minute when Drane Hadji scored for Mali from a close range.
The Senegalese tried to get the score leveled immediately after conceding but were let down by their attacking force that was unable to find the back of the net. With Senegal failing to score, Guinea maintained their lead until the first half as they went to the break with a goal lead.
The two teams returned from the break with high tempo as Senegal as in search of an equalizer while Mali looked for additional goals to double their lead. After all the hard work from both teams, it was Mali that got a goal to double their lead. The Malian captain, Ndiaye Lasana, gave his team the lead in the 52nd minute as things got difficult for Senegal.
Six minutes after conceding the second goal, Senegal was given hope by center referee Jerry Yekeh, who awarded a penalty for a hard tackle in Mali’s penalty area. With the hopes of getting a goal back, Senegal skipper Ibrahim Drame missed from the spot. His penalty was denied by Mali goalkeeper, Coulibaly Alkaliba, who made a save not far from the goal line.
Mali felt threatened after Senegal missed out on reducing the goal deficit and began to put on more pressure for another goal to further kill the hopes of the Senegalese.
Their push for goal materialized in the 73rd minute through their captain, Lasana, who got his second goal of the match. Three goals down, Senegal kept their heads up high, looking for consolation. Finally, they got a goal registered in the 78th minute through Amadou Sagna, the final goal of the match as Mali walked off the pitch with the three points.
In the other game of the day, Gambia and Guinea played to a draw in a high octane game.
The Guineans scared the Gambians with an early goal, which was equalized before the end of the first half. Fode Kebe scored a set-piece outside the penalty area to beat Gambia’s goalkeeper, Yankuba Colley, in goal.
Guinea got the lead in the 27th minute and was unable to prevent the Gambians from scoring before the end of the first half. Adama Jammeh came to the rescue for the Young Scorpions with a header in the 32nd minute.
The first half goals were the only goals of the match as both teams failed to score in the second half, despite making several attempts. The result between Gambia and Guinea put Mali on top of Group B with three points. Two points separate the Malians from the Gambians and Guineans while Senegal sits at the bottom with no goal.
The competition continues on Thursday, April 26 when Group A countries will play their second group games. Sierra Leone, with three points, will take on Ivory Coast, the top positioned team in the group. Host Liberia, with no points or goals scored, will play a Guinea Bissau that lost 2-1 to Sierra Leone in their first game.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley, Jr.
