Mali snatched a dramatic win from a certain defeat, while Tunisia succumbed to the pressure, fading away from the brink of victory. It was a rough contest, no end, and of amazingly fluctuating fortunes, too. But Mali survived as they refused to exit on an incredible Casablanca night.
Tunisia were the favourites and held massive possession throughout the game, but were faced with a tough Mali team which blocked every move, put their bodies on the line, and, to be fair, had the Tunisians struggling for space and momentum.
The match went into a rough spiral with a spate of yellow cards on either side, though Mali had the larger share. The dangerous play resulted in a red card for Woyo Coulibaly, and Mali were reduced to 10 men in the 26th minute.
The Eagles, however, displayed unreal determination and held on till Tunisia’s Firas Chaouat scored in the 88th minute. But Mali refused to relent and secured a penalty in the dying minutes of the game. Sinayoko converted to equalise. In extra time too, Mali continued to defy Tunisia, pushing the contest into a tie-breaker.
In the shoot-out too, Tunisia went ahead twice when Mali missed penalties, but Djigui Diarra, the 30-year-old goalkeeper of Mali, saved two crucial kicks in the end to deny Tunisia a very probable victory. The Tunisians’ nerve snapped in the end while Diarra held on to his to win the game for Mali.
A bitter slugfest that went Mali’s way. The stoic defiance of The Eagles had outpaced the Eagles of Carthage for good.
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