By Nana Kwame Bediako
The Stallions of Burkina Faso played against the Almoravids of Mauritania at the Stade Bouake on January 16, 2024, in what was an end-to-end encounter that saw Burkina Faso win the day with a 1:0 victory.
The Stallions of Burkina Faso started the game at a slow pace as the Almoravids of Mauritania took charge of the game, dominating from back to front. Mauritania heavily poured consistent pressure on Burkina Faso as they forced them to sit deep and cut out any danger thrown at them.
Goalkeeper Herve Koffi of Burkina Faso was called to play on numerous occasions as he was forced to make some vital saves to keep his side in the game. The Burkina Faso goalkeeper stood his ground in the first half to keep the scores at 0: 0.
The second half saw some improvement from the side of the Stallions of Burkina Faso as they invited the goalkeeper of Mauritania, Babacar Niasse, into the game by shaking his defence with some good efforts, which he responded equally to. Babacar Niasse in the first half was on holidays compared to Herve Koffi, who had lots to do in the first half.
The Almoravids of Mauritania, considering their slow start to the second half, gradually fought back to cause some problems for the stallions of Burkina Faso when Sidi Amar’s right-footed shot to the bottom right corner was impressively denied by goalkeeper Herve Koffi.
The contest moving forward turned into a battle between the two goalkeepers, as Babacar Niasse of Mauritania also came to the party with a wonderful save to deny Bertrand Traore.
Surprises erupted in the late minutes as Burkina Faso was awarded a penalty on stoppage time when Nouh El Abd’s challenge on Issa Kabore gave the Stallion of Burkina Faso a lifeline. Bertrand Traore stepped up to the spot and made no mistake as he slammed the ball into the net to make it 1:0 for Burkina Faso.