MATCHDAY 3 – GOALS GALORE AS MALI & COTE D’IVOIRE WIN

by Staff Reporter

Tuesday Oct 01, 2019. 10:23

It was goals galore on Matchday 3 in the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations with both Mali and Cote d’Ivoire impressing all in their respective victories.

Matchday 3 of WAFU 2019, though, began with the conclusion of game 4 of the tournament following a floodlight failure the night before in the match between Sierra Leone and Liberia. The game was postponed on Sunday night in the 71st minute with the Leone Stars leading 1-0 thanks to a goal from Suffian Kalokoh, and got back underway on Monday at 15:30 (GMT) in the same minute the game was stopped and with the same players.

Liberia did come out firing with only 19 minutes to play in the blistering heat in Thies, but Sierra Leone managed to hold on for the win over the two day period. The Man of the Match, which is sponsored by Royal Air Maroc, for the game between Sierra Leone and Liberia was the goalscorer Suffian Kalokoh. What was supposed to be the first game of Matchday 3 saw Mali produce a commanding performance as they beat Niger 3-1 thanks to goals from Issaka Samake (3’ penalty), Moussa Kone (63’) and Ibourahima Sidibe 67’.

The Malian team controlled the flow of play from the onset and took their opportunities in front of goal while Niger struggled with their passing game in the final third. Niger did manage to find a consolation goal in the 85th minute courtesy of a clinical strike from Aziz Ibrahim Abdoul, but it was too little too late. The Man of the Match, which is sponsored by Royal Air Maroc, for the game between Mali and Niger was Mamaye Coulibaly.

Following the outcome of the first two games of the day, Mali progressed into the quarterfinals of the Cup competition where they will play Sierra Leone on October 6, while Niger will take part in the Plate quarterfinals against Liberia on the same day.

The final game of Matchday 3 was the most exciting of them all with five goals scored as Cote d’Ivoire beat Cape Verde 4-1 thanks to a double brace from Laurent Magbi (7’ pen + 22’) and Aboubacar Doumbia (53’ + 93’). The consolation goal for Cape Verde was a spectacular effort from Nono Rolha, and certainly a contender

for ‘goal of the tournament’, when he volleyed home a corner-kick from 14-yards out. Following the outcome, Cote d’Ivoire will now progress into the quarterfinals of the Cup competition where they will play Togo on October 5, while Cape Verde will take part in the Plate quarterfinals against Nigeria on the same day.

The Man of the Match, which is sponsored by Royal Air Maroc, for the game between Cote d’Ivoire and Cape Verde was goalscorer Laurent Magabi.