CHAN 2022: Ndiaye fires Senegal to the top of Group B; Ethiopia, Mozambique play out a goalless draw
Senegal went top of Group B of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship following a hard fought 1-0 victory over Cote D’Ivoire on Saturday, 14 January at the 19 May 1956 Stadium in Annaba courtesy of a second half strike by Moussa Ndiaye.
A second half strike Ndiaye, who came on as a substitute ensured that the Teranga Lions walked away with maximum points in what was a tightly contested affair from the two African football giants.
Senegal wasted no time in putting Cote D’Ivoire under pressure from the opening whistle but found a resolute Cote D’Ivoire defence who stood firm against the series of attacks.
The Teranga Lions could have taken the lead as early as the 5th minute after Elimane Cisse did well to thread through a delightful ball to Cheikh Diouf, who failed to get the ball under his control with just the keeper to beat.
Minutes later, Souleymane Coulibaly had to come to The Elephants’ rescue again after the troublesome Cisse sent an appetising cross that almost found its way to Diouf before the attack was thwarted by the lanky defender’s well-timed clearance.
Senegal continued to dominate their opponents, with Cote D’Ivoire seeing very little of the ball but couldn’t do much to hurt their opponents in the final third.
Moussa Kante had the best chance of the half in the 38th minute after Ousmane Kane’s cross found the striker unmarked for him to send a tame effort at goal, which was easily gathered by goalkeeper, Ayayi Folly.
The Senegalese keeper Pape Sy was eventually called into action towards the closing stages of the first half after a stinging shot from outside the danger area by Sankara Karamoko had to be fisted away, only for the ball to fall in the path of Abdramane Konate, who’s well taken strike came off the upright to the relief of the Teranga Lions.
The Elephants came back a much improved side in the second half, launching more attacks from the flanks and through the middle.
Their dominance was almost short lived after conceding a penalty in the 70th minute from a handball by Aziz Abdoul who was relieved to see Ayayi Folly guessing the right direction to save Lamine Camara’s spot kick.
The deadlock was eventually broken in the 73rd minute after Camara’s well taken free kick from the edge of the box rebounded off the woodwork to graciously land in the path of substitute, Moussa Ndiaye who comfortably slotted home in a goal that had to be reviewed by VAR.
The result meant Senegal top the group with three points ahead of DR Congo and Uganda who both have a point following their 0-0 stalemate earlier, while Cote D’Ivoire find themselves at the bottom of the group.
In the other group game, two winners DRCongo were held to a goalless draw by neighbours Uganda in a highly contested match.
The result was a true reflection of the two sides who had a couple of chances in front of goal but were wasteful on several occasions and unlucky on others.
Adam Bossu Nzali had the game’s first real chance at goal with a well-taken freekick on target, but it went straight into Ugandan goalkeeper Nafian Alionzi’s hands in the 10th minute.
On the other end of the pitch, Cranes playmaker Moses Waiswa had the same opportunity to give Uganda the lead but he sent his attempt into the stands much to the frustration of his colleagues on the bench.
Nzali, who was red-hot with attacking zeal down the left side, made a fast-paced run into the box but sent his shot into the side of the net as the Ugandans hi-fived each other for avoiding the goal that could have given the Congolese the lead.
The midfield had a busy outing on the night with both sets of players trying to control the tempo of the game which also turned out to be physical but it was the Congolese who had the most ball possession – 53%.
In the second half, Uganda came close to finding the back of the net but Gift Fred’s header hit the post and was cleared by the Congolese defence.
Congolese substitute Jean-Marc Makusu almost scored within five minutes of coming on but his attempt went into the side of the net and minutes later forced Alionzi to pick up the ball from his powerful shot.
Both coaches Otis Ngoma and Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic made necessary changes but their efforts did not alter the result of the game.
Ethiopia played a goalless draw with Mozambique at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in the second Group A game of the tournament.
Both sides failed to break the deadlock despite creating several scoring opportunities with the Walia Ibex particularly guilty of profligacy.
Ethiopia enjoyed much of the ball possession in the opening half of the game with the first clear cut chance falling to the East Africans.
Markine Maleko was the culprit as he failed to beat goalkeeper Victor Guambe from close range. The Walia Ibex grew in confidence with Milion Solomon and Suleman Hamid pivotal in carrying the ball forward.
Fuad Abdo had a glorious chance to put Ethiopia ahead when the Mambas failed to properly clear Debebe’s inswinger, but Fuad’s efforts went off target.
Mozambique’s goalkeeper Victor Guambe, was kept busy all afternoon, as he made at least three fine saves to keep the game on a parity at the break.
Ethiopia had shouts for a penalty waved away after Alberto Thauzene appeared to have handled Amanuael Aregawi’s shot in the 18 yards box, but the VAR confirmed the referee¨s decision.
Wubate Abate turned to his bench for possible solution and brought in Bene Yam Demte to replace Fuad Abdo.
Isac Decarvalho failed to make Ethiopia pay for their attacking mindedness, after goalkeeper Fasil Gebremichael collided with his own defender in an attempt to stop a Mozambique cross, but Decarvalho’s header went inches above the cross bar.
Mozambique looked more lively in the last quarter of the game, as both sides squandered late chances to make a difference.
The result means Mozambique recorded their first ever point at the CHAN, in what is just their second participation.
Ethiopia and Mozambique now have one point each and are second in Group A, behind hosts Algeria who defeated Libya 1-0 in the opening game on Friday.
