By: Nana Kwame Bediako
The Almoravids of Mauritania played against the Black Antelopes of Angola at the Stade Bouake Stadium on January 20, 2024, in what was an end-to-end encounter that saw Angola win the day with a 3:2 victory.
Dala Gelson gave Angola the lead in the 30th minute when a loose ball fell his way. He made no mistake with his acrobatic effort, slotting the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 1-0. After going ahead, Mauritania had other plans for changing the narrative of the game as they gradually crawled into it.
Mauritania in the 43 minutes to end the first half equalised, with Sidi Bouna Amar dazzling through the defence of Angola before smashing the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-1, setting up a good contest in the second half.
The second half took a quick spin as Angola wasted no time by scoring in the 50th minute, with a superb goal from Dala Gelson adding to his first-half goal to make it 2-1. A few minutes after taking the lead, Angola added another goal in the 53rd minute with a Gilberto shot deflecting off Lamine Ba to make it 3-1.
Mauritania pulled back a second goal when Aboubakary Koita fired in from 20 metres to raise Mauritanian hopes of a comeback, but Angola held on as goalkeeper Neblu made a crucial save at the dying embers to keep Angola’s lead intact.
