January 10, (THEWILL) – Senegal kicked off their TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) contest with a 1-0 victory over Zimbabwe, with Sadio Mane scoring the game-winning goal with seconds left.
Due to a COVID-19 outbreak that affected the likes of Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly, Aliou Cisse’s side was without as many as six “indisputable starting players”
Perhaps due to their absences, the Teranga Lions struggled for much of the game.
Keita Balde summed up their performance early on when he squandered one of the few clear chances while shooting over from close range, and Mane squandered another good opportunity.
In the heat of Bafoussam, the pace of the game did not really spark until 14 minutes from time, when Boulaye Dia surged into action and looked set to square to Mane for a tap-in, only for goalkeeper Petros Mhari to masterfully hang on to the squared pass, snuffing out the chance.
Zimbabwe appeared to have a chance to win as the most likely to score, but in the final 10 seconds of stoppage time, Kelvin Madzongwe raced down a shot and was adjudged to have handled the ball. The referee ignored the protestations of the Zimbabweans and stuck to his decision to award Senegal a penalty after communicating with the VAR team.
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane maintained his cool to score the resultant penalty and break the hearts of Zimbabwean fans following the scores. It was a harsh decision and a tough end for the Zimbabweans, who had held their own against one of the tournament’s early favourites.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
