Angola defeated Mauritania 3-2 on Saturday in the second Group D clash of the day at the ongoing AFCON 2023 tournament in Cote D’Ivoire.
Angola’s Gelson Dala opened the scoring for his team netting in the 30th minute. In the 43rd minute, however, Mauritania’s Sidi Bouna Amar scored a much-needed equalizer for the Mauritanian side.
Yet the joy of the Mauritanians was short-lived as Dala scored his second goal of the game to restore Angola’s lead. Yet again, just three minutes after the Angolan second goal, Aboubakary Koita netted at the 53rd minute to equalize for Mauritania.
Led by coach Amir Abdou, Mauritania had faced an unfortunate setback in their opening game against Burkina Faso, losing 1-0 to the West African team.
Angola, on the other hand, had demonstrated resilience and occasional industriousness as they held the highly regarded Algerian Fennecs to a hard-fought 1-1 draw.
As such, the Saturday evening game was for both teams an occasion for securing a first victory to be in a good position for the next round. Meanwhile, Angola has enjoyed a seven-match unbeaten run, having lost only one of those games.