The game which ended 3-2 in favour of Nigeria the Caroline Faye Stadium, M’Bour witnessed a nervy ending as the Malian came back strong in the second half to reduce the deficit by scoring two goals.
Junior Ajayi who bagged a brace, scored Nigeria's opening goal in the 16th minute. Muhammed Usman doubled the lead connecting from a Sincere Seth cross, before Ajayi netted Nigeria's third goal a simple tap-in after Mali shot stopper Djigui Diarra failed to make a firm grab of a low shot by Azubuike Okechukwu.
According to Siasia, "It was a difficult match. We played very well in the beginning and scored three goals. The defenders made two mistakes which cost us, and Mali scored twice. The defenders panicked and they (Mali) almost equalized. I guess we were lucky to escape."
For Cheick Oumar Kone, Mali's Head Coach: "We started very badly, but in the second half we played collectively. We lifted up our game and scored twice. We could have equalized but we failed to convert some of the chances.
"Such is football; you get punished if you fail to take your chances. Our next game against Algeria will be equally difficult. They are beatable but we have to avoid mistakes like we did against Nigeria."
