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Patson Daka nodded in a brilliant injury-time equalizer Zambia a barely deserved point in the opening match of the African Cup of Nations against Mali this afternoon.
The Leicester striker ran onto Mathews Banda’s cross from the right to dive full length and head past Djigui Diarra from 10 yards out.
It was undoubtedly more than Moses Sichone’s team deserved after a performance full of commitment but sorely lacking in quality.
El Bilal Touré missed a first-half penalty for Mali, but they took the lead when Lassine Sinayoko fired home from close range.
But it wasn’t enough, and it left the hosts Morocco is the only team to have won three points in the first round of Group A.
Mali is much better at the start of the match
Mali looked lively in the early stages and circulated the ball well on a lush surface, perfect for free-flowing football.
Tom Saintfiet’s men had the first chance when a deft pass created an opening for Nene Dorgeles, but her right-footed shot slipped past the far post.
Sinayoko was next to try his luck with a more powerful effort, but Zambia goalkeeper Willard Mwanza positioned himself well to make the save.
Mali’s dominance looked set to pay off after 37 minutes when Banda clumsily collided with Dorgeles inside the area and referee Abdulkadir Artan pointed to the spot.
Toure took the penalty but his firmly struck effort into the bottom right corner was superbly saved by Mwanza.
Mali remained at the forefront while Zambia was content to play at the break. But the Copper Bullets continued to miss their targets with forays forward on several occasions ending with a lost pass in the final third.
Sinayoko strikes
The Eagles finally managed to break through just after the hour mark.
Sinayoko’s first attempt was blocked but the ball bounced well for the Auxerre striker and he smashed it into the roof of the net.
It took Zambia 72 minutes to register their first shot on goal, but it almost resulted in an equalizer, Dominic Chanda’s overhead kick acrobatically saved by Diarra.
Sinayoko almost added a brilliant second, cutting in from the left and firing a shot that went inches past the upright.
It was a critical moment because, with time almost up, Daka took Banda’s superb cross to drive the small group of Zambian supporters crazy.
