Football has the habit of throwing up astonishing results as if out of the blue. A recent example would be Hull City's 6-0 thrashing of Fulham in the Premier League, but on this day in 2010 Mali managed what has gone down as one of the greatest comebacks in football - certainly internationally.
The start to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations was a disaster. The Togolese team bus was attacked by gunmen just after crossing the border from the Republic of Congo into Angola. Three people died and several players were hit, including Serge Akakpo and Kodjovi Obilale, while Emmanuel Adebayor, then of Manchester City, was also on board.
The Togo side was disqualified from the tournament three days later having left Angola following the attack and the whole competition was thrown into doubt. The organisers decided to continue as planned, with the tournament getting underway just two days after the attack. For pure footballing reasons the decision was justified, as the opening match between Angola and Mali was one of the greatest games in the competition's history.
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The Cup of Nations has the tendency for games to either be devoid of goals as two teams cancel each other out tactically or the exact opposite, with many going in at either end. This one had the lot. The hosting side were in control throughout and it should have been nothing other than a comfortable win. Which, of course, is how it was looking.
After the minute's silence for those killed just a couple of days before, the Sable Antelopes started the game on the front foot and remained so for 80 minutes. Flavio was unplayable in a first half that saw him score twice; his first a diving header and his second another with his head from a right-wing cross. At the break it was so far, so good for Angola.
In the second half the hosts won two penalties, which were dispatched by Gilberto and Manucho respectively, giving them a 4-0 advantage. Cue home supporters leaving early to celebrate and away fans skulking out as Angola looked to play out the final minutes to take an easy win. However, Mali had not read the script.
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Then Barcelona man Seydou Keita had come off the bench to concede one of his side's penalties, but he was to prove a key part of Mali's late comeback as he notched a scrappy effort with 11 minutes to play. His side had hope, but surely the best they could wish for now would be merely a respectable scoreline.
Frederic Kanoute had done nothing in the game up to this point, but suddenly he came alive and headed in the goal to halve the deficit. Angola's players suddenly looked nervous as they felt that there was a real chance they might throw this away. The student who reportedly put his entire loan on Angola at 4-0 up was equally uncomfortable at this time.
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As the game entered injury time Mali still needed two goals. One came through Keita from very close range before there was incredibly time for a leveller from Mustapha Yatabare to stun the home fans in Luanda.
Football does not get any more dramatic than this and although Mali ended up being eliminated from Group A, the result did restore a lot of national pride.
Matt Domm
