Senegal defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 in their Afcon qualifying match in Group L at the Stade du 26 Mars in Bamako, Mali, on Thursday evening.
A lack of composure in front of goal produced a rather frustrating night for the Lions of Teranga, but eventually their hard work paid off as they finally found the back of the net late in the game.
The match started off with Senegal on the front foot, whisking together attacking moves that threatened their opposition.
Lions of Teranaga forward Nicolas Jackson had a few opportunities in front of goal. His first was a header that went over the crossbar, leading to a corner which was taken by Ismaila Sarr.
The Burkina Faso defence found ways to deal with the danger and collected themselves.
The Stallions then showed an effort to go forward with counter attacking moves as Senegal’s defence was frequently caught napping.
Jackson was a real problem for Burkina Faso’s defence as he tried to make the most of a through ball he received from Sadio Mane 15 minutes into play, but was unfortunately ruled offside.
It soon became a tale of two sides as the Stallions kept showing resilience and Cedric Badolo also had a shot at goal which was on target but not enough to cause any serious damage.
Edouard Mendy found himself having to come out of box to deal with the counter attacking tactics and the match was goalless at the break.
Matters were not much different in the second half, with Senegal now looking desperate to get the three points.
Now dominating possession, Senegal's Sadio Mane showed moments of individual brilliance, however, the scoreline remained the same well towards the last 20 minutes of normal time.
In the 83rd minute, Habib Diarra’s powerful low shot ensured that the Senegalese walked away with all three points in Mali and the Teranga Lions are now top of the group.
Burkina Faso (0) 0
Senegal (0) 1 (Diarra 83’)
Burkina Faso: F. Ouedraogo, C. Badolo (O. Camara 64’) H. Bande, S. Banse, O. Bouda (J. Tiendrebeogo 64’), I. Dayo, I. Kabore, S. Simpore, E. Tapsoba, L. Traore, S. Yago
Senegal: E. Mendy, K. Diatta, M. Diouf, I. Gueye, N. Jackson (C. Ndiaye 64’), K. Koulibaly, S. Mane, I. Ndiaye (P. Sarr 88’), M. Niakhate, I. Sarr (H. Diarra 64’)