Mali and Guinea will enter a draw to see who moves into the quarterfinals of the 2015 African Cup of Nations after their final Group D match ended 1-1 at the Estadio De Mongomo on Wednesday night.
The result combined with Cote d’Ivoire’s 1-0 win over Cameroon in the other group game sees Mali and Guinea finished joint second and on the same goal difference which means CAf will conduct a draw tomorrow to see who goes through to the quarterfinals.
Cote d’Ivoire topped Group D while Cameroon finished bottom.
Mali came out the blocks firing with Abdoulaye Diaby driving into the box as early as the second minute, but he saw his 16-yard effort skim the wrong side of the crossbar.
Four minutes later Diaby was in the thick of the action again when he pounced on a loose ball inside the Guinea box following a goalmouth scramble, but his six-yard shot was deflected inches wide.
Guinea came into the game in the 13th minute when the referee awarded them a penalty for a handball inside the box by Mali’s Salif Coulibaly.
Kevin Constant stepped up to give his side the lead form the spot in the 15th minute, 1-0.
A minute later Mali were afforded the perfect opportunity to pull a goal back when the referee awarded a second penalty, this time adjudging Baissama Sankoh to have handled the ball inside the Guinea box.
Seydou Keita stepped up for Mail, but saw his penalty saved by Naby Yattara.
The Guinea keeper was at his best again in the 34th minute when he produced a great acrobatic save to tip a 30-yard pile-driver from Diaby over the crossbar.
The half ended 1-0 in favour of Guinea.
Mali drew level two minutes into the second half when a right wing cross from Diaby was headed home by Modibo Maiga, 1-1.
Only the brilliance of the Guinea keeper kept the scores level in the 53rd minute when a fingertip save from Naby Yattara saw him deny Mamoutou N'Diaye from 22-yards out.