Thanks to goals from two Kamaras, Sierra Leone rescued a point against African giants Ivory Coast. However, apart from the scorers for Leone Stars, Sierra Leoneans can thank Franck Kessie and Badra Ali Sangare for their mistakes which resulted in a 2-2 draw at Japoma Stadium in Douala.It started as expected, with the Ivorians dominating the pitch. From the get-go, Wilfried Zaha caused problems down the left side – after 10 minutes, the Crystal Palace winger was played through on goal but before he could get a shot away he was bundled over inside the area by Umaru Bangura.AFCON 2021: Lions of Chinguetti concede four after being caught in Tunisian kick-off trapThe Elephants earned a penalty but Mohamed Kamara pulled off another impressive save to deny Kessié’s shot from the spot. It comes off the back of his viral ‘man of the match’ performance against AFCON holders Algeria.Ivorians continued to push for the opener – menace Zaha was still allowed to roam and for that, he punished the Leone Stars. Sébastien Haller caught Zaha’s assist for the opener from close range after 25 minutes.Even though it was another low-scoring half of the tournament, the two sides came out with much more intensity. Sierra Leone failed to score in five of their last six group matches but they are a stubborn side – Musa Kamara’s equaliser in the 55th minute reignited the flame of the match. He turned Eric Bailly inside out before sending a thunderbolt into the roof of the net.Ivorians did not wait long to retake the lead, their response was instant, Nicolas Pépé curled in from the edge of the box and the Elephants thought they had done enough.However, deep into stoppage time, in a moment of madness, Ivorian goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangaré clumsily spilled a headed-back pass which allowed Alhadji Kamara to tap into an open net.Sangare called for medical help (most probably to take the focus away from his mistake, but the injury reports will tell if we are unnecessarily malicious) so Serge Aurier was forced to go in goal for the final seconds but all in all he had little to do as his country held on in the closing moments of the match.Another draw against the favourites caused celebrations in the capital of Freetown. Tonight’s result means they have two draws from matches against two competition favourites meaning group E is wide open ahead of the final round of fixtures.Sierra Leona le acaba de empatar en el último minuto a Costa de Marfil, amplio favorito, y los festejos en las calles de Freetown son una locura: así lo muestra @KanuVisuals ¡Qué hermoso sos, fútbol!pic.twitter.com/RMhb3ySxCM— Periodistán (@periodistan_) January 16, 2022 The Elephants were wasteful this afternoon and it can be said they deservedly spilled two points. Several opportunities were lost due to players’ desire to put a feint or two before shooting. Now they have the reigning champions to face in order to qualify further.AFRICA CUP OF NATIONSGroup FSundayGambia – Mali 1-1 (0-0)/Barrow 90 pen – Kone 79 pen/Tunisia – Mauritania 4-0 (2-0)/Mathlouthi 4, Khazri 9, 64, Jaziiri 66/
Group EIvory Coast – Sierra Leone 2-2 (1-0)/Haller 25, Pepe 65 – M.N. Kamara 55, A. Kamara 90+3/22.00: Algeria – Equatorial Guinea