By Momodou Bah, M’bour.
Algeria’s U-23 beat Mali 2-0 in M’bour to keep their hope of qualifying for the semifinals of the Africa U-23 Cup of Nations.
Zinedine Ferhat broke the deadlock with a close range tap-in in 73rd minute following a brilliant move down the left channel between substitutes Oussama Darfalou and Meziane.
Mali were the better side in most periods of the match but fail make best use of their dominance.
Adama Niane had Mali’s first chance in the 15th minute, dribbling his way through the Algerian defense before seeing his right footed effort go inches over Abdelkadir Salhi’s crossbar.
Four minutes later Algeria’s Abdelhakim Amokrane missed a seater inside the Mali area heading over Zakaria Draoui’s well measured cross.
Zakaria got on the scoresheet in the closing stages of the match to seal the victory for Algeria with his angled shot deflected by Mali’s skipper to beat the helpless Djigui Diarra in goal.
The win move Algeria to four points, ahead of their final group match against Nigeria on Saturday, while Mali are still to register a point.
The top three from the tournament will claim places at the men’s football tournament at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
