Dark hoses Mali begun their quest for a very first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title on a very positive note as they edged 2004 champions Tunisia 1-0 in their opening Group F encounter played on Wednesday afternoon at the Limbe Stadium in Limbe, Cameroon in a match that was laced by comical refereeing from centre referee Janny Sikazwe.The Zambian official stole the show with his pathetic calls especially towards the tail-end of the game, as he first blew the final whistle with five minutes left to the end of regulation time only for the game to be restarted and he again, ended the game, this time with no restart, with upto twenty seconds left on the clock to regulation time. Despite several stoppages, Sikazwe did not grant any additional time with the Carthage Eagles left fuming at the poor officiating.For someone who is a teacher of mathematics, referee Janny Sikazwe should understand time better.#AFCON2021— Owuraku Ampofo (@_owurakuampofo) January 12, 2022 Away from the drama, it is the bright west African side, ranked 53, who managed to finally make their dominance count in the match as Ibrahima Kone’s second half penalty kick secured all the three points that maintained Mali’s rich history of never losing their opening match in the AFCON tournament as they raced to the top of the group.In a game where the Eagles dominated, Tunisia, ranked 30, would have salvaged a point in the match as they were awarded their own chance from the penalty spot, but for all the experience under his belt, team captain Wahbi Khazri failed to convert his spot kick as the Tunisians were condemned to a losing start after their lackluster display.FULL-TIME #TeamTunisia 0-1 #TeamMaliIbrahima Kone gifts Mali their first three points in the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 👏#AFCON2021 | #TUNMLI pic.twitter.com/yktQCTWPZ6— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 12, 2022 In the first half, Mali who boast of having the young squad in the entire tournament, dominated all the proceedings but their precision in the final third was massively lacking as they could not transform that superiority into anything meaningful as Tunisia were let off the hook time and again by the poor finishing.After a period of half chances in the opening half hour, Southampton star Moussa Djenepo conjured a moment of brilliance on the 36th minute but his tantalizing and teasing cross into the area just went begging as the attackers failed to get any touch onto it in what had been the half’s clearest chance, Mali left as the most frustrated as the two teams went into the break with the deadlock intact.Half-timeTunisia 0-0 MaliThe Eagles have been slightly dominant but they are finding it hard to pentrate#AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/yx4WT5y3Pc— Ole Teya (@Kevin_teya) January 12, 2022 Just two minutes upon resumption of the second half, though, Mali made their dominance count in the match, albeit in fortuitous circumstances, as the centre referee awarded them a penalty kick after Tunisia’s Ellyes Skhiri was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area.Kenya’s tormentor Kone, who scored four goals in two games against Haramabee Stars, stepping up to the spot and sending the goalkeeper the wrong way with his attempt to open the scoring for the Eagles.The Malian uprising star, Ibrahima Kone, putting on a show in his #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 debut after lighting it up in the #TotalEnergiesU23AFCON. 🇲🇱 💪@femafoot | #AFCON2021 | #TUNMLI pic.twitter.com/7N69SyyxHg— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 12, 2022 On the 55th minute, after going down, Khazri tried to inspire his side back into the tie but his free kick from outside the area was too comfortable a save for Mali keeper Ibrahim Mounkoro who palmed the ball out for a corner. It is from that ensuing corner that Skhiri had a near perfect chance to atone for his handball that led to the penalty but his header was wide off target despite him being under the nose of the goal.But with fourteen minutes left on the clock, Tunisia, just like Mali, were gifted a golden chance to restore parity in the game after they were awarded their own penalty on a Djenepo handball following VAR intervention but captain Khazri failed to step up to the occassion as Mounkoro crucially saved his kick to maintain Mali’s lead.
