Huracanes, AS Mande share the spoils in tough encounter
Published:
Huracanes FC 1-1 AS Mandé
Goals: E. Obono Sima 65th (sp) / F. Diarra 71st
Nothing could separate Equatorial Guinea’s Huracanes and AS Mande of Mali in their opening matches of the CAF Women’s Champions League on Monday, 06 October when they got their Group B campaign off to a start.
A tactically balanced 1-1 draw saw Mande getting a scare in the 65th minute after Elena Obono opened her account in the 65th minute from the penalty spot to give her side the lead against the favourites.
Not to alarmed by conceding first, the Malians responded minutes later Fatoumata Diarra capped her player of the tournament performance with an equaliser in the 71st minute.
With this being their second appearance in the CAF Women’s Champions League, AS Mande are yet to register a win and will be looking at doing better in their next group matches with qualification to the knockouts still very much in reach for all four teams.
This is what the two coaches had to say:
Moustapha Traoré - AS Mandé Coach
"My impressions are not good, we had to win this match. Until the red card, we were in control of the match. A draw is better than losing. Matches are approached in the same way. We should not be discouraged by the red card as we have enough talent to come in her place and carry on with the task”.
Rondo Oyana Severino - Huracanes FC Coach
"It's our first participation, I'm satisfied with my players. It's a young team. That's the most important thing, we took a point and we'll see what happens next. For the next match against AS Far we have to work even harder. No one came here with the idea of losing. We will do everything to leave our mark in this tournament. We will approach this competition match by match".
