Key events
Thank you very much for joining me! A report will be coming to the top of this blog in the near future.
Full time! Mali 1-1 Zambia
Daka earned Zambia a point late on, something few predicted after the Sinayoko opener. Mali were the more attacking team from the off, and looked on course for victory but Zambia kept plugging away and were rewarded.
GOAL! Zambia have been much better since conceding. They are on level terms thanks to a find cross from deep by M Banda, which allows Daka to make a clever run between defenders before diving to head home.
GOAL! Mali 1-1 Zambia (Daka, 90+2)
A superb header to equalise!
90 mins: A cracking cross find Daka at the near post but he gets his header all wrong and it balloons wide.
Four minutes added on.
88 mins: Diarra almost gets in behind Banda but the defender reacts well.
86 mins: Almost a second but Diarra is put off from finishing a header.
Haidara is sent on for Mali.
84 mins: Diaby produces a fine tackle, sliding through an impressive amount of water to do so. The sprinklers did plenty of work at the break.
Sinayoko almost gets himself a second; his quick feet see him beat a defender, earning space to fire towards the far corner but his shot flies inches wide.
82 mins: Zambia are having more of the ball at the moment but Mali look happy to try and pick them off. A second would definitely finish this as a contest.
80 mins: Another long throw from Banda causing the odd problem but Mali clear. The ball comes back but the attack breaks down after a foul on Dante.
78 mins: Corners and throw-ins look like Zambia’s best chance to get back into this. F Sakala heads off to be replaced by Musonda, who is celebrating his birthday.
76 mins: Zambia look short of ideas of how to create a chance in open play.
Mamadou Doumbia and Diarra on, Toure and Nene off.
74 mins: That was Zambia’s first shot of the match, compared to Mali’s 14. Just in case you were wondering how this is going.
72 mins: A Mali corner lands about 10 yards from goal, Diaby attacks it but heads well over.
Down the other end, a long throw almost leads to a chance for Zambia but the ball is bundled behind. The resulting does bring the best Zambia opportunity of the game, as Chanda overhead kicks but it is a stunning save.
70 mins: A second booking of the match levels things up. Zambia’s Simukonda is cautioned a minute after coming on for taking down Sangare.
Nene gets the ball on the left-hand side of the box and takes aim for the far corner but the goalkeeper reads it and palms the shot away.
68 mins: Zambia take off L Banda and Chaiwa, sending on Simukonda and Sabobo.
66 mins: Zambia break but it is curtailed when Dieng cynically takes down Kangwa from behind, earning the Mali skipper a booking.
64 mins: Zambia have worked hard defensively, so will be very angry with themselves for the manner in which they conceded. I suspect they will need to make some changes in order to get back into the match.
The goal seems to have boosted Mali, who are looking for a second. Doumbia barrels into the box and goes down after a challenge but it is not a penalty.
GOAL! Zambia give away a needless corner, which Mali take quickly before their opponents can regroup. A first shot is blocked but Sinayoko takes a touch and smashes home.
GOAL! Mali 1-0 Zambia (Sinayoko, 62)
Zambia set their own downfall.
60 mins: Another decent moment for Zambia as a dangerous cross is sent into the box. Some mid-range chaos ensues but Mali react to clear.
58 mins: Zambia win a corner after a smart break. Can they make the most of it? Absolutely not, as the corner flies over everyone and straight out of play.
56 mins: Zambia are yet to offer an attacking threat in this half. They look quite keen to slow things down as much as possible. I think they are eyeing a point.
54 mins: A smart move from Mali opens up space for Coulibaly on the right, he dinks in a cross for Toure to attack but he gets the header wrong and it dribbles wide.
52 mins: Nene produces some trickery on the left, earning him the chance to get into the box. The winger goes down under pressure from M Banda. Naturally, the Malian wants another penalty but nothing is doing.
50 mins: I should say at this point the Mali kit is absolutely glorious. If anyone wants to buy me one for Christmas, feel free.
49 mins: Coulibaly is on the deck, rather upset not to receive a free-kick after a challenge by Chaiwa. He is right to be upset because the replays show the Zambia taken none of the ball and plenty of ankle. I am not sure how the officials missed it.
47 mins: An early effort from distance by Dieng should cause Mwanza troubles, considering some late bounce, but the goalkeeper deals with it easily.
Second half
Here we go again!
Russell Yong emails: “Early rounds of the Afcon tend to see sparse crowds; it’s probably safe to say that the majority of people from most participating nations aren’t going to travel all the way across the continent to follow a tournament in person. You can, however, count on everyone within shouting distance of a TV, both in the home country and the (often very large) diasporas, tuning in to watch.
“For me, one of the greatest joys is perusing the squad lists and seeing names of players I’d long forgotten existed. Would you believe, for instance, that Didier Ndong is in the Gabon squad and still only 31? Plays for Esteghlal in Iran, apparently. Or that Jean-Philippe Gbamin has stayed injury-free for more than 10 minutes? Indeed, he has played over 100 games since leaving Everton and is currently at Metz. Pedro Obiang, Jean-Michael Seri, Steve Mounie, the list goes on.
“Anyway, here’s to a couple of weeks of simultaneously brilliant and chaotic football, confusing my Diarras and Diattas, and pretending to know everything about Samuel Moutoussamy.”
From what I can see on the television, I would say the ground is at about one-fifth of capacity.
Zambia are doing a little huddle on the pitch.
Half-time: Mali 0-0 Zambia
The missed penalty was the main and pretty much only talking point from the first half. Zambia look keen to secure a point and are playing very defensively. Hopefully things will speed up a little after the break.
45+2 mins: We have a bit of a delay for treatment after a bump on the noggin’ for CHanda.
45 mins: Three minutes added on.
43 mins: The second penalty at Afcon not converted in as many matches. It doesn’t bode well for shootouts later on in the tournament.
MISSED PENALTY
Toure sends it to the goalkeeper’s left but Mwanza produces a brilliant save.
40 mins: PENALTY TO MALI! Unsurprisingly it is a penalty. Not sure why this has taken so long, though.
39 mins: Nene beats Banda to the ball, resulting in the defender completing clearing out the Malian. The referee is off to the monitor …
38 mins: Chaos in the Zambia box. M Banda and Nene are left on the deck after a tackle by the Zambian, which looks like a dreadful foul. Penalty?
36 mins: Mali are having the majority of possession here but that will not surprise anyone. They just need to make it count at some point.
34 mins: Sangare takes aim from 20 yards but his shot goes well wide.
