Mali Coach Admits Nigeria Took Advatange Of His Side's Slow Start

Mali U23 national team coach, Cheick Oumar Kone, has admitted that his side kicked off their campaign at the ongoing

African U23 championship in Senegal on a very bad note, but insisted his lads' momentum in the second half wasn't enough to earn his side a point in the game.

Junior Ajayi scored twice as the Samson Siasia's tutored side tops their group with a 3-2 win over the Malians, and will be facing Egypt in their next game on Wednesday evening. 

Both Egypt and Algeria shared points as their first game ended in a draw enroute Olympics 2016 in Rio. 

"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 today."

Meanwhile, Nigeria's U23 gaffer,   Samson Siasia, whose team launched the new national Green and White Jersey on Sunday blamed the two conceded goals on errors made by his defenders, but hailed the team for the fantastic display.

"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 they (Mali) scored twice. The defenders panicked and they (Mali) almost equalized. I guess we were lucky to escape." CAF