10-Man Ivory Coast Stages Remarkable Late Comeback to Beat Mali 2-1 and Reach Africa Cup Semis

Ivory Coast's forward #14 Oumar Diakité (C) takes his jersey off as he celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 quarter-final football match between Mali and Ivory Coast at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake on February 3, 2024. (AFP)
Ivory Coast's forward #14 Oumar Diakité (C) takes his jersey off as he celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 quarter-final football match between Mali and Ivory Coast at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake on February 3, 2024. (AFP)
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10-Man Ivory Coast Stages Remarkable Late Comeback to Beat Mali 2-1 and Reach Africa Cup Semis

Ivory Coast's forward #14 Oumar Diakité (C) takes his jersey off as he celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 quarter-final football match between Mali and Ivory Coast at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake on February 3, 2024. (AFP)
Ivory Coast's forward #14 Oumar Diakité (C) takes his jersey off as he celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2024 quarter-final football match between Mali and Ivory Coast at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake on February 3, 2024. (AFP)

Oumar Diakité scored in stoppage time of extra time to send 10-man Ivory Coast into the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations with a dramatic 2-1 win over northern neighbor Mali on Saturday.

Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams saved four penalties in the shootout for South Africa to also advance by beating Cape Verde 2-1 on penalties after their quarterfinal match ended 0-0 after extra time.

After playing with 10 men for the entire second half and extra time, tournament host Ivory Coast actually finished the match with nine players as Diakité was booked for excessive celebrations amid scenes of unbridled joy among nearly 40,000 fans in the Stadium of the Peace in Bouaké.

It was Diakité's second yellow card, meaning he will miss the semifinal match against Congo on Wednesday.

Simon Adingra had equalized with Ivory Coast’s first shot on target in the 90th minute to send the match to extra time, and Diakité completed a thrilling comeback by scoring in what was the 122nd minute of the game.

“If it continues like this, I think we can do nice things,” Diakité said, referring to another remarkable recovery.

The Elephants came from behind to knock out defending champion Senegal on Monday. Ivory Coast had barely qualified for the knockout stage thanks only to results in other groups. It also fired its coach and tried unsuccessfully to hire another.

Ivory Coast was heading for a disappointing exit Saturday after Mali substitute Nene Dorgeles broke the deadlock with a brilliant strike from distance inside the top right corner in the 71st.

The Eagles had enjoyed a player advantage from the 43rd, when Odilon Kossounou was sent off with his second yellow card for a tactical foul to stop Mali forward Lassine Sinayoko.

Kossounou’s first yellow came earlier after conceding a penalty for his challenge on Sinayoko. Ivorian goalkeeper Yahia Fofana saved Adama Traoré’s spot kick.

The penalty scare prompted more commitment from Ivory Coast, which had been outplayed, but Mali’s defense largely coped with the Elephants’ charge, especially after Kossounou was sent off.

Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra was untroubled until Adingra prodded the ball home after Seko Fofana’s initial effort was blocked.

It prompted an explosion of joy in the stadium. Security had to haul away a photographer who left his position to join in the players’ celebrations.

Fans watching on large screens in Abidjan flipped into party mode, jumping, dancing and celebrating, but the real party only started after Diakité’s late winner.

South Africa’s penalty hero

Hero goalkeeper Williams saved the Blue Sharks’ first three spot kicks, while Zakhele Lepasa hit the crossbar with South Africa’s second and Cape Verde ‘keeper Vozinha saved Aubrey Modiba’s effort from the third.

Bryan Teixeira then scored for Cape Verde to level the shootout at 1-1, but Mothobi Mvala scored the next for South Africa and Williams sealed the Bafana Bafana’s win by saving Patrick Andrade’s penalty.

South Africa will play Nigeria on Wednesday in its first Africa Cup semifinal match for 24 years.



Paul Waring's Record 61 Opens Huge Lead in Abu Dhabi

The Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi (WAM)
The Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi (WAM)
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Paul Waring's Record 61 Opens Huge Lead in Abu Dhabi

The Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi (WAM)
The Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi (WAM)

Englishman Paul Waring carded a course-record 61 Friday to open a five-shot lead midway through the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in the United Arab Emirates.

Waring's tap-in birdie at the 18th hole at Yas Links moved him to 19-under-par, the lowest 36-hole score to par in the history of the European tour.

Denmark's Niklas Norgaard (65 on Friday) and Thorbjorn Olesen (67), American Johannes Veerman (67) and first-round leader Tommy Fleetwood (68) of England are tied for second at 14 under, Reuters reported.

Waring, who opened the tour's first playoff event with a 64 on Thursday, posted nine birdies and an eagle at the par-4 sixth hole during a bogey-free performance.

Waring delivered his best shot of the day and secured the lowest round of his career at the par-5 18th. Following a wayward drive and a free drop, he chopped his second shot back to the fairway before launching a 250-yard blast to within 4 feet of the cup.

"That was the best shot I've ever hit in my life, to be honest," Waring said of his fairway wood at No. 18.

Waring, 39, is ranked No. 229 in the world and has just one win on the European tour at the 2018 Nordea Masters.

"Obviously feel great, swinging it great. Putter is behaving," Waring said. "That's I'd say a weak spot for me now and again, but I've done a lot of work on it, and since moving over to Dubai I'm very used to this style of greens as well.

"I've got a nice lead at the moment but even before I tee off tomorrow, someone might have caught me. So, if I'm going to be involved on Sunday afternoon I've still got to keep going the way I am."

Olesen's eventful round Friday included two eagles, four birdies, a double bogey and a bogey. He pitched in at the 18th for his second eagle.

"It was a bit of a battle there on the back nine," Olesen said. "I probably got what I deserved, and that's what golf does. You get some good breaks but then you know you're probably going to get some bad breaks, also."

Race to Dubai leader Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland is nine shots behind Waring after a second straight 67 that included a triple-bogey at the par-3 17th.

"I played quite nice up to that point and I feel like I hit a nice shot into 17, just trundled into the bunker," McIlroy said.

"There wasn't a lot of sand where the ball was and I just sort of made a mess of it from there, but bounced back well to birdie the last."