PAYNESVILLE, Montserrado – Mali booked their place in the 2018 West African Football Union U-20 Nations Cup semifinals on Friday, April 27 with a narrow win over rivals Guinea.
The Malians made sure they finished as Group B’s winner with six points after fighting for a much-needed win over Guinea. Ousmane Diakite scored the only goal for the Eagles late in the second half to keep them at the top of Group B with six points.
With Guinea playing to a disappointing 1-1 draw in the first match against the Gambia, they were out for the maximum three points against Mali to stand a possible chance of qualifying from the group.
Mali returned to the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex with their ruthless attacking force that scored three goals against Senegal in their first match in Group B.
The Eagles showed no mercy to the Guineans, creating several scoring chances. However, they were unable to register a single goal in the first half due to the brilliant goalkeeping by Guinea’s goalkeeper, Abdoulaye Camara, who later won the Man of the Match award.
Camara made over five saves in the first half to stop the Malians from scoring. Both teams failed to register a single goal in the first 45 minutes as the first half ended without a goal.
Back from the break, it was Mali that returned with more force as they tried to get a goal. Mali’s Lasana Ndiaye failed to score on two clear chances in the 48th and 62nd minutes after being denied by the brilliant Abdoulaye Camara in the goal.
Camara worked hard to stop the Malians from reaching the ball at the back of his net, but he couldn’t contain them any longer in the closing stages of the match. Mali kept pressing for a goal until the 86th minute when Lasana Ndiaye combined with Ousmane Diakite to break through the Guinean defense and scored the match’s only goal.
Ndiaye made a long run from the halfway line before connecting with Diakite, who was in the position of reaching the ball at the back of the net. Diakite wasted no time upon receiving the ball from Ndiaye as he struck with his right foot from Guinea’s penalty area to give Mali the lead.
The Guineans tried hard to make use of the remaining six minutes in the match to level the score but failed as Mali ended the match as the winner.
Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.
