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- Salah spares Egypt shock defeat with stoppage-time penalty
Salah spares Egypt shock defeat with stoppage-time penalty
Mohamed Salah scored a 97th-minute penalty to spare Egypt's blushes as it salvaged a 2-2 draw against Mozambique to deny its opponent a first ever Africa Cup of Nations win.
Salah's spot-kick went in off the post after VAR had determined that Mozambique defender Domingos Macandza had committed a foul in the box.
Egypt made a fast start in Abidjan thanks to a goal inside two minutes from Mostafa Mohamed, but Mozambique made it pay for missed opportunities by scoring twice in three second-half minutes through Witi and substitute Clesio Bauque.
But the Mambas were ultimately denied a first victory at the tournament as Salah kept his nerve, just.
"It's heartbreaking to not win like that but it will only make us stronger. We are not thinking small, we are thinking big," Mozambique midfielder Guima said after the game.
Egypt went ahead when Salah had an uncharacteristically poor effort at goal, but as the ball fell fortuitously to Mostafa Mohamed, he fired into the bottom corner.
Egypt pushed for a second and Trezeguet's low shot from 18 yards struck the outside of the post, but Mozambique were almost level when Pharoahs defender Mohamed Hamdi miscued a clearance that looped towards his own net and goalkeeper Mohamed El Shennawy pulled off an astonishing save to keep his side ahead.
Mozambique equalised against the run of play on 55 minutes when Witi rose unmarked from Macandza’s cross and guided a powerful header past El Shennawy.
The Mambas then turned the game on its head with a second three minutes later as it cut Egypt apart through the midfield. Guima fed a rampaging Clesio and the midfielder evaded a wild tackle by Ahmed Hegazi for a clear run on goal and provided a composed finish to the delight of the Mozambique fans.
Egypt came close to an equaliser when Hamdi Fathi's clever flick looped onto the post and away, and boos ran out as seven minutes of added time was signalled from the sideline.
It was soon after that Egypt won its penalty, and Salah took the opportunity to deny Mozambique one of the greatest shocks in Africa Cup of Nations history.
Egypt now looks ahead to a second pool fixture against Ghana on Friday (AEDT), while Mozambique meets Cape Verde on Saturday (AEDT).
