Mali drew 1-1
with DR Congo in
a 2013 Africa Cup
of Nations Group
B clash on
Monday night in Durban, South
Africa,
guaranteeing the
Malians a ticket
to the quarter-
finals of the competition. Goals from Dieumerci Mbokani for
the country formerly known as
Zaire, and Mamadou Samassa for
the Eagles produced the
stalemate. A number these Afcon matches
have been slow at the start, with
the action peaking in the second
half, and often only in the dying
minutes of the encounters have
goals been scored. This match was a completely different story, with
DR Congo's Lomana LuaLua hitting
the post in the first minute of
the game, before Mali conceded a
third minute penalty.Dieumerci Mbokani converted the spot kick, giving the Congolese the
lead very early on. The Eagles of Mali would soon
respond to that strike, however,
and in the 15th minute Adama
Tamboura sent in a tight angle
cross to a confidentMamadou Samassa, who equalised for his side. The Congolese found themselves
on the back foot at that stage,
with Mali growing in confidence
after their poor defensive start. Mali continued to push forward,
but despite their hold on
possession, they were only able
to create a handful of decent
chances, which were not
converted. In the 38th minute DR Congo
wasted an opportunity from a
free kick, with LuaLua curling his
effort straight into the wall. The
half ended with the score level at
1-1. At the start of the second half
Tresor Mputu came on for
LuaLua, in an effort to inject life
into the Congolese attack. Patrice Carteron's Mali side
struggled to impose their
dominance in the early stages of
the second half, with DR Congo
looking the more dangerous side. Both teams were aware that the
winner would advance to the
quarter-finals of the competition,
but neither of the two squads
seemed capable of outdoing the
other, and in contrast to a frantic and entertaining first few
minutes, the last section of the
game was scrappy. With 10 minutes to go it seemed
as though captain Seydou Keita
had found a winner for Mali, but
his header fell just wide of the
target. In the dying minutes DR
Congo had a penalty appeal, but the referee waved play on. The match ended in a 1-1
stalemate, while the other game
in the group produced a 3-0
victory for Ghana over Niger. Those results see Ghana top and
Mali second in Group B, with the
Black Stars set to play the Cape
Verde, while the Eagles will clash
with hosts South Africa, as
Bafana Bafana topped Group A.