Soccer-Mali beat Angola 3-1 in fifth group A match.

Accra, (Greater Accra) 1 March, '99, --

Mali beat Angola 3-1 in their final group A match of the African Under-20 Youth tournament played at the Accra Sports Stadium in Accra last Saturday. Two goals from inside left Seydou Keita 42 minutes and 52nd minutes, and a third by substitute, Mahamadou Dissa in the 86th minute sealed victory for the Malians.

The Angolans, who got their lone and only goal in the tournament through Paulo Zanga Pedro in the 15th minute, ended the group matches without a point. They, therefore, become the first team to say goodbye to Ghana '99. The Malians went straight into the Angolan goal area soon after referee Monteiro Duarte of Cape Verde had signalled both teams into action. Midfielder, Tuonkara Bakou took a pass from his half, raced down the right flank and sent a cross into the path of Keita, who planted it into the net for the fastest goal of the tournament so far. It erased the 43 seconds goal netted by Nigeria against Guinea in a group B match in Kumasi last Monday. The Angolans, with their pride at stake, repulsed the attack and had the equaliser 15 minutes later through Pedro when he scored from a two-man move.

Surprisingly, the Angolans recoiled into their shells after the equaliser, allowing the Malians to dominate the game but they were not able to score because of erratic shooting up-front. Right full back, Adama Coulibaly of Mali received the first yellow card for rough play in the 20th minute. Mali brought on Youssouf Coulibaly for left full back Bacayoko Mamadou in the 29th minute while the Angolans substituted left winger Miranda Antonio for Taveres Pereira in the 37th minute.

It was the Angolans, who nearly went ahead before half time but right full back Baptista Refato's shot from Luis Manuel's pass missed the target narrowly in the 41st minute. Both teams came back from the recess with a substitution each. Mali pulled out right back Lassana Coulibaly for Mahamadou Dissa and Angola brought on Morias Sebastio Agost for Flavio Da Silva. The Malians benefited from the change as they kept the Angolan goal area boiling. Their persistent pressure bore fruit in the 52nd minute when right winger Tenema Ndiaye dribbled three Angolans on the run and sent a pass to Seydou Keita, who shot beyond the reach of goalkeeper Lius Mamona of Angola into the net.

Keita nearly scored again in the 58th minute but this time the Angolan keeper was quick off his mark to push the ball to touch for a corner kick, which was wasted. As the Malians kept up the pressure, the Angolans resorted to rough play and this earned Pedro the yellow card for bringing midfilder Tounkara Bakou of Mali down in the 71st minute. Mali exhausted their substitution by bringing on Baba Cisse for Mamadou Diarra in the 75th minute. With four minutes left to the end of the proceedings, Substitute Dissa slipped through the visibly tired Angolan defenders to score the third goal for his side.

Two-goal hero, Seydou Keita of Mali was voted the best player of the match. He recieved a radio cassette recorder, donated by LG Electronics and a gospel compact disc album by Becky Singer from Mr E.T. Mensah, Minister of Youth and Sports. Meanwhile, Mali leads the group A fair-play rankings with 9.71 points followed by Ghana with 9.5 points, Angola, 7.39 points and Cameroon, 6.57 points. In group B, Nigeria tops with 9.40 points followed by Malawi with 9.35 points, Zambia 8.57 and Guinea, 7.24 points. Line-up : Mali - Keita Boubacar, Lassana Coulibaly/Mahamadou Dissa, Mamadou Bacayoko/Youssouf Coulibaly, Adama Coulibaly, Bakou Tounkara, Tenema Ndiaye, Mahamadou Diarra, Seydou Keita, Amadou Coilibaly, Abdoulaye Camara and Mahamadou Diarra/Baba Cissea. Angola - Lius Mamona, Baptista Refato, Manuel Ferreira, Makuntima Sebastio, Monteiro De Assis, Pereira Da Silva. Joaquim Marcos, Paulo Zanga Pedro, Jose Manuel Lius/Antonio Mussuba, Mirinda Carlos/ Taveres Pereira and Flavio Da Silva/Morias Sebastio Agost