Africa-Press – Senegal. Pape Bouna Thiaw says he regrets the goal conceded by Senegal at “the last second” of its match against Rwanda, Saturday, on behalf of the last day of the qualifiers for the next African Cup of Nations (CAN) planned in Côte d’Ivoire (January 13-February 11).
Senegal, with a largely overhauled squad, had played under the orders of Pape Bouna Thiaw and Malick Daff, coaches of the local national team and the under-20s respectively.
Without its usual starters, Senegal led for a long time against Rwanda at home, before being caught in stoppage time of this meeting (1-1).
“A match is played until the end,” commented Pape Bouna Thiaw at the end of this meeting played in Huye. We held the match until the last second and unfortunately, we conceded a goal at the end of the match that we could have avoided. »
“We have a young team, mistakes can happen. This will make us grow,” added the Senegalese technician, former Lions striker in the 2000s.
According to Thiaw, “the disappointment of the players at the end of the match proves that they really wanted to win this match. It’s a positive reaction. »
The Lions opened the scoring in the 66th minute. Rwanda came back to the score in the 96th minute, following a careless error by the Senegalese defense.
“We came to have a good match because we knew that opposite, there would be good opposition, a team which has arguments to put forward. Rwanda did not give up. In the first leg in Dakar, it was the same. They had given their all. They only lost at the end of the match,” analyzed Pape Bouna Thiaw.
The Rwandans, he added, “showed very good things on long balls and building the game from behind. They knew how to make long shots. They put us in difficulty.”
The Lions, not very inspired, were well countered by a Rwandan team credited with a good game and who were keen to snatch their first victory in these qualifiers.
“Afterwards, we made the necessary adjustments in the second half to regain the upper hand. We had chances to kill the match, but we didn’t exploit them well. It’s football,” stressed the technician.
The strong symbol of this meeting is the entry into play of striker Amara Diouf, the youngest footballer to have worn the Senegal jersey in an official match, at 15 years and 94 days old.
Senegal, first in Group L and already qualified at the end of the fourth day, completes the qualifying campaign with 14 points on the clock.
Mozambique, winner (3-2) of Benin on Saturday, finished in second place behind Senegal with a total of 10 points.
The Mozambican team, with this latest victory, has booked its ticket for the next 2023 African Cup of Nations, scheduled for Ivory Coast (January 13-February 11, 2024).
Benin (5 points) and Rwanda (3 points) finished third and fourth respectively.
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