Burkina Faso had Bertrand Traore to thank as he scored a late penalty to hand them a 1- 0 win over Mauritania in their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Group D match under the sun in Boakye on Tuesday afternoon.
The Black Stallions came into the tournament having finished fourth at the last AFCON edition while it was the third consecutive outing for the Lions of Chinguetti.
The Mauritanians were the brighter of the two sides in the first half, producing seven total shots of which three were on target. It required Burkinabe goalkeeper Herve Koffi to be alert, with the Sporting Charleroi shot-stopper making a brilliant save to deny Idrissa Thiam’s free kick on the edge of the box on the half-hour mark.
Burkina Faso were in the ascendancy in the second half, producing more shots, and Mauritania’s goalkeeper Babacar Niasse making more saves.
⌚ FULL-TIME!
Burkina Faso snatches the 3 points in the dying moments, thanks to Bertrand Traore’s late goal! #BFAMRT | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 pic.twitter.com/J1lqMryoc9
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 16, 2024
The pressure for a goal finally paid off for Hubert Velud’s men deep in added time when VAR adjudged Nouh Mohamed El Abd to have fouled Luton Town full-back Issa Kabore in the penalty area.
Veteran forward and substitute Traore stepped up to convert the resultant spot kick to hand the Burkinabe all three points ahead of their next Group D game against 2019 AFCON champions Algeria.
