Mali made a miraculous recovery to pull back from a four goal deficit to hold Angola to a 4-4 draw in the opening game of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola on Sunday.
The hosts appeared set for the best possible start when a first half double from Flavio Armado and penalties from Gilberto and Manucho had them celebrating a famous victory.
With only 16 minutes on the clock Mali looked down and out.
But a double from Seydou Keita and contributions from Frederic Kanoute and Mustapha Yattabare gave them an improbable draw.
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Angola coach Manuel Jose said: “This draw tasted like a defeat to me, this is one of the most bitter pills I've ever had to swallow in all the matches of my long career. Football in Africa is learning on the road, we have the skills but we were a little naive.”
Mali coach Stephen Keshi, who lifted the title with Nigeria as a player in the 1990s, didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"It was a little difficult to believe we might come back. I've got mixed feelings, I'm happy with a draw but upset with my team."
This Nations Cup curtain raiser began with a minute's silence in memory of the victims of Friday's deadly gun attack on the Togo team coach in Cabinda.
The silence, immaculately observed by the 50,000 capacity crowd, turned to something much louder seconds after kick off when Mali goalkeeper Mahamadou Sidibe had to look lively to deal with Flavio's shot from the left. This proved to be a great start for an exciting game.
Source: AFP
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