Libya secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Botswana in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification Group J match at the Martyrs of February Stadium in Benghazi on Wednesday evening.
The Mediterranean Knights began their Group J campaign with a narrow home victory courtesy of Saleh Al Taher's second-half strike in a match which saw Hamdou Elhouni's penalty being saved.
Libya will now battle it out with Equatorial Guinea away on Monday as they search for their second consecutive victory which would boost their hopes of qualifying for the 2023 finals in Ivory Coast.
Botswana, meanwhile, will be disappointed to have failed to at least collect a point on the road. The Zebras will turn their attention to their encounter with Tunisia on Sunday at home in another Group J clash.
The Mediterranean Knights and the Zebras launched attacks from the start with neither side happy to sit back and invite pressure in the opening stages of the encounter.
However, Botswana goalkeeper Goitseone Phoko and his counterpart Muad Allafi remained largely untroubled as both sides were giving away possession cheaply in the final third.
Phoko got busy towards the end of the first half as he was forced to come out and snatch Al Warfali's long ball, before diving to his right to gather Elhouni's dangerous curling cross and the score was 0-0 at the interval.
The Mediterranean Knights upped the tempo after the restart and they were awarded a penalty after Thato Kebue was adjudged to have fouled Elhouni inside the visitors' box.
Phoko dived to his right to deny Al Warfali from the spot-kick, but Saleh Al Taher scored from the rebound to make it 1-0 to Libya in the 54th minute, much to the delight of the fans inside the stadium.
It was nearly 2-0 to Libya when Omar Al Khoja's rasping shot hit the crossbar with Phoko well-beaten and at the other end, Tumisang Orebonye fired straight into Allafi's hands.
The momentum was with the Zebras in the latter stages of the game, but long-range shots from substitutes Thero Setsile, Thatayaone Kgamayane and Mpho Kgaswane were saved by the alert Allafi.
The Al-Ittihad shot-stopper's late saves ensured that the game ended in a 1-0 win for Libya as the North African side maintained their unbeaten record against Botswana.
Libya 1 (Al Taher 54')
Botswana 0
Libya:Allafi, Fakroun, Eltrbi, Al Warfali, Rajab, Elhouni, El-Mounir, Al Khoja (Jaddour 79'), Al Taher (Eisay 90'+1), Soulah, Touhami (Al Obaidi 80').
Botswana:Phoko, Kebue, Johnson, Gaolaolwe, Ditlhokwe, Ditsele, Seakanyeng (Setsile 63'), Cooper, Orebonye, Mabaya (Kgaswane 63'), Sesinyi (Kgamanyane 63').