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Morocco edge Malawi to reach quarter-finals
Youssef En-Nesyri of Morocco celebrates goal with teammates during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Afcon Finals Last 16 match between Morocco and Malawi at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, Cameroon on 25 January 2022 ©Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
Tuesday Jan 25, 2022. 23:19
Morocco edged out Malawi 2-1 in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Last 16 match at the Stade Omnisport Ahmadou Ahidjo in Cameroon on Tuesday night.
Therefore, the Atlas Lions advanced to the quarter-finals after securing a narrow win courtesy of goals from Youssef En-Nesyri and Achraf Hakimi, while Flames crashed out of the tournament with Frank Mhango having scored their consolation goal.
The Flames stunned the Atlas Lions when they took an early goal through Frank Mhango just seven minutes into the match. The Orlando Pirates striker noticed that Yassine Bounou had moved out of his goal and he beat the lanky goalkeeper with a sensational curling shot to hand Malawi a 1-0 lead.
Morocco then piled pressure on Malawi as they searched for the equalising goal, but the Southern African side looked dangerous on the counterattack. Mhango ran on to a Micium Mhone through pass and he unleashed a low shot that narrowly missed the target with the Atlas Lions’ defence exposed.
This served as a wake-up call for the 1976 African champions who then kept keeper Charles Thomu very busy. The Silver Strikers shot-stopper produced marvellous saves to deny Achraf Hakimi (twice), Imran Louza and Sofiane Boufal, but he was beaten by Romain Saiss’ effort which hit the crossbar.
The Atlas Lions did get the goal they had been searching for in first-half stoppage time as Selim Amallah’s long ball from the left side was headed home by Youssef En-Nesyri at the back post to make it 1-1 heading into the half-time break in Yaounde.
The Flames did well to contain the Atlas Lions after the restart and Mhango attempted another fantastic long-range shot, but this time Sevilla FC shot-stopper Bounou was well-positioned to make a save as the Malawians fired a warning to the North African giants.
Morocco then upped the tempo and they were awarded a free-kick in a promising area after Gerald Phiri Junior had committed a foul. Hakimi then stepped up and beat Thomu with a fabulous strike from the set-piece to hand Morocco a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes left on the clock.
The Malawian technical team reacted by making a triple substitution as they introduced Robin Ngalande, Mark Fodya and Stain Davie with 12 minutes left and the Flames pushed for a late equalising goal in the closing stages of the encounter
However, Vahid Halilhodzic’s side stood firm at the back in the dying minutes of the encounter with Bounou largely untested in the second-half and ultimately, Morocco emerged 2-1 winners over a resilient Malawi side on the night.
Morocco (1) 2 (En-Nesyri 40’+2, Hakimi 70′)
Malawi (1) 1 (Mhango 7′)
Morocco: Bounou, Hakimi, Aguerd, Saiss, Masina, Amrabat, Louza (Barkok 80′), Amallah, Boufal (El Haddadi 81′), EI Kaabi (Mmaee 53′), En-Nesyri (Aboukhlal 88′)
Malawi: Thom, Sanudi (Davie 79′), Chembezi, Chaziya, Chirwa, Banda, Idana (Ngalande 80′), Mhone (G.Phiri Jr 45’+4), Madinga (Fodya 78′), Mhango, Muyaba (Mbulu 46′).
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