Cote d'Ivoire 1-1 Mali: Gradel grabs vital
late equaliser
Bakary Sako had looked like giving Henryk
Kasperczak's men maximum points until a fine
finish in the closing minutes from the Saint-
Etienne forward


Max Gradel scored what
could be a priceless
equaliser as Cote d'Ivoire
drew 1-1 with Mali in
Saturday's Africa Cup of
Nations encounter.
Herve Renard's side only earned a 1-1 draw with
Guinea in their opening match courtesy of
Seydou Doumbia's 72nd-minute strike, and
looked set to suffer a huge setback on Saturday
as, despite dominating possession, they
struggled to find a response to Bakary Sako's
early opener.
However, substitute Max Gradel fired home with
three minutes remaining following a cutback
from Serge Aurier, providing a welcome boost to
Cote d'Ivoire's qualification hopes.
Sako fired Mali ahead after just seven minutes
with a superb half-volley, although Cote d'Ivoire
- many people's tip to win the tournament -
appeared unfortunate not to be awarded a
penalty prior to the interval when Molla Wague
upended Wilfried Bony in the area.
Mali, who lost goalkeeper Soumbeila Diakite to
injury in the second half, held out thereafter
against wave after wave of pressure, only to be
found wanting as Gradel finally broke their
resistance.
Both teams will enter the final round of group
matches with two points from as many games.
Siaka Tiene, Ismael Diomande and Doumbia were
all brought into a Cote d'Ivoire side missing the
suspended Gervinho.
Yet it was an unchanged Mali who seized the
initiative early on, courtesy of a fine goal from
Sako.
Sambou Yatabare was given time to deliver a
cross from the right, which Sako met with a
sweetly timed half-volley back across goal that
left Sylvain Gbohouo with no chance.
A lack of quality in the final third hampered
Cote d'Ivoire as they sought to get back on level
terms, with Aurier particularly wasteful as he
failed to pick out a team-mate after getting to
the byline.
However, Mali appeared extremely fortunate not
to concede a penalty in the 33rd minute when
Wague brought down Bony with his head as he
fell to the ground, after the striker had pulled
off a nutmeg with a dazzling piece of footwork.
Kolo Toure saw a powerful header superbly
parried on to the crossbar by Diakite from the
corner that followed as Mali continued to ride
their luck, while Doumbia volleyed wide after
being incorrectly flagged offside.
Diomande was then hauled off six minutes
before the interval, replaced by Gradel, but the
change did little to bring about an immediate
improvement for Cote d'Ivoire.
As Mali dropped increasingly deep in the second
half, Bony twice missed the target with headers.
The injured Diakite was then forced off with an
apparent thigh injury, yet Mali continued to hold
firm and could have snatched a second when
Gbohouo made a mess of a cross only to be
rescued by Wilfried Kanon's clearance.
Just when it seemed as though Mali had done
enough to secure three points, Gradel had the
final say, firing home a low shot following fine
work from Yaya Toure and Aurier.