Ngah Manga struck twice as Cameroon claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Mali in an entertaining TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Group D encounter in Casablanca on Thursday evening.
The Indomitable Lionesses maintained their impressive record against Mali, extending it to four wins and a draw in their last five meetings, and secured three crucial points.
Meeting for the sixth time in tournament history, the familiar rivals produced another tightly contested affair.
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Galatasaray star Ngah Manga opened the scoring in the 14th minute. She showed excellent composure to bring down a lofted pass into space with her chest before calmly finishing at the near post to hand her side an early advantage.
Mali responded positively and were rewarded in the 30th minute after goalkeeper Michaely Bihina brought down Aissata Traore inside the penalty area. Traore stepped up confidently and converted from the spot to bring the West Africans level.
The remainder of the first half was evenly balanced, with both teams creating promising openings but unable to break through well-organised defences.
Cameroon regained the lead in the 72nd minute after a VAR review resulted in a penalty. Manga stepped up to convert with composure, completing her brace and restoring her side’s advantage.
Mali pushed forward in search of another equaliser, but Cameroon defended resolutely. The best chance of the dying moments fell to Mali substitute Fatoumata Diarra, but her late effort lacked power, allowing Bihina to gather comfortably and preserve the win.
Attention now turns to Sunday’s second round of Group D fixtures, where Cameroon face Ghana, who defeated Cape Verde in their opener.
Meanwhile, Mali will look to bounce back when they take on Cape Verde in the race for a spot in the knockout stages.
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