By Molade Durojaiye
From being one goal down,10-men Cotê d’ Ivoire cameback on Saturday to defeat fierce fighting Mali to book a space for the Semi-final of the ongoingAfrica Cup of Nations (AFCON).
The encounter which took placeattheStade de la Paix in Bouake,Cote d’Ivoire, saw the host country coming back to impress countrymen who had filled up the stadium.
With a poor start in the game, the Elephantswatched asMali created majority of the chances which led to them getting a penalty in the early stages of the game.
Lassine Sinayoko was brought down in the penalty box by Côte d’Ivoire’s Odilon Kossounou, and a penalty was awarded after the latter was shown a yellow card.
Adama Traore’s effort from the spot was saved by goalkeeper, Yahia Fofana.
Kossounou was sent off in the first half after he received a second yellow card following another challenge on Lassine Sinayoko.
Mali’s dominance continued in the second half as they had a man more than Côte d’Ivoire, but the host managed to contain them for some time.
The Eagles finally had what they kept pushing for throughout the game; the opener in the 71st minutes.
Substitute Nene Dorgeles weaved through the Côte d’Ivoire defence to find open space, and hit from outside the box to beat Yahia Fofana who was rooted to score the opener.
Cotê d’Ivoire unexpectedly got the equalizer through Simon Adingra who scored from a rebound, following Seko Fofana’s long range which hit the Malian defence.
Oumar Diakete scored late in extra-time to win it for Cotê d’Ivoire with a clever back heel finish.
Cotê d’Ivoire will play D.R Congo in the semi-finals at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Feb. 7.