Burkina Faso needed a late penalty from star player Bertrand Traore to down a resilient Mauritania 1-0 at the Stade de la Paix stadium, Bouake City on Tuesday afternoon.Traore who rose from the bench in the second half struck from the spot to ensure that Burkina Faso extended their impressive goal-scoring record in the tournament as the West Africans have now scored in fifteen successive matches.The Aston Villa winger expertly curled the ball to the left side of the Mauritania goalkeeper Babacar Niasse to see his country top Group D of the tournament.Traore, took the responsibility to convert after Nouh Mohamed El Abd fouled Issa Kabore in the penalty area.##NAJAVA_MECA_7805361##Burkina Faso sit at the summit of the group as the 2019 champions Algeria were held to a one-all draw by Angola in the opening match of the pool played on Monday night.Much as Traore settled the contest, it was creative midfielder Blati Toure who was named the man of the match for the loads of work he did in the midfield.Kenyan defender Clyde Senaji extends contract with Malawian giants Nyasa Big BulletsBefore the game-changing moment, both teams had unsuccessfully tried to score from open play from the handful of chances created.The Stallions might have dominated but it was Mauritania who had the clearest of chances.Burkinabe goalkeeper Harve Koffi pulled a couple of saves to deny the goal-hungry forwards, especially in the first half where they looked dangerous on the break.Mauritania goalkeeper Niasse, used his imposing height to the advantage of his side, collecting all long balls and crosses whipped into the area with ease.AFCON 2023: “Unwanted” Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana snubbed by Cameroon coachHowever, Niasse, the tallest player on the pitch couldn’t earn his side what would have been their third-ever point at AFCON by stopping Traore from scoring as he dived the wrong way.Moroccan referee Jalal Jayed had initially waved play on when Kabore went down in the area but reversed his decision after the video assistant referee (VAR) had advised him to consult the pitch side monitor.Kabore who was a thorn in the flesh of Mauritania left-back had been put through by Traore but Nouh caught him late in the area resulting in the penalty.
