Benin have been held to a one all draw by the Amavubees of Rwanda in match day three of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier game at home this Wednesday evening, March 22.
Substitute Steve Mounie scored in borrowed time to ensure Grenot Rhor era as coach didn’t start in defeat.
Visitors, Rwanda silenced the crowd at the Stade de L’Amitie when they took the lead at the 13th minute, courtesy of a goal from Gilbert Mugisha.
The hosts dominated but without end product as the Amavubi’s engaging defensive effort kept them abay till the break.
Upon resumption, Benin threatened several times early into last 45 minutes to get the equalizer, but all efforts were futile as goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari stood tall.
The shot stopper made a telling contribution when he denied Olaitan from a shot taken inside the box.
Carlos Alos’ side played the last 30 minutes of the game with just 10 men after maskman, Hakim Sahabo recieved his second booking for carelessly pulling Dodo Dokou.
Benin’s efforts finally paid off at the 82nd minute when substitute Steve Mounie took advantage of a loose ball to restore parity.
Benin came close to winning it when Stephane Sessegnon’s shot was denied by Ntwari, who made an acrobatic last minute save..
The last eight minutes of regular time and the six minutes of additional time, saw the Amavubi’s defend gallantly and held on to grab a point as the game ended 1-1.
Franco-German coach Rohr’s first game as head coach of the Cheetahs ends with a point and promising signs.
Benin get their first point of the qualifiers against Rwanda ahead of the reversed fixture.
Though Benin has lost their last five games in all competitions, they are above the visitors in terms of footbaing Ranking. They are currently ranked 91st by FIFA in World Football, significantly higher than Rwanda, which is ranked 137th in the world.
Following this result, Rwanda remains third in Group D with two points from two consecutive draws while Benin grabbed their first point after losing their first two games.
The Teranga Lions of Senegal are leaders of the group with six points and will face second-placed Mozambique on Friday, March 24.
Meanwhile, the reversed fixture between Benin and Rwanda comes up on Monday, March 27.
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