A late extra-time goal by Oumar Diakité secured hosts Ivory Coast a 2-1 win against Mali and a spot in the AFCON semi-finals.
The Malians opened the scoring through a stunner by Nene Dorgeles in the 71st minute and looked like they would be heading to the last four.
But late drama in the match saw three red cards and a dramatic finish.
MALI DOMINATE BUT FAIL TO GO THROUGH TO THE SEMI-FINALS
There was also a South African representation in the match with SAFA referee Akhona Makalima handling the Video Assistant Referee [VAR]. Her department was tested when Mali thought they deserved a penalty in the eighth minute.
Odilon Kossounou clearly handled the ball inside the 18-area box but Makalima and the match officials did not award the penalty after a Mali player was adjudged to be offside.
But Mali finally got a penalty in the 15th minute. Kossounou was once again the culprit after a foul on Lassine Sinayoko. But the Malians failed to capitalise on the glorious opportunity with Yahia Fofana saving an Adama Traoré spot kick.
RED CARD FOR IVORY COAST IN THE FIRST HALF
The hosts suffered a huge setback when Kossounou received his marching orders with a second yellow two minutes before halftime. The red card resulted in a forced change for Ivory Coast with Wilfried Singo coming in for Nicolas Pépé.
Mali finally found the opening goal through a stunner from attacking midfielder Nene Dorgeles in the 71st minute.
IVORY COAST SECURES AFCON SEMI-FINAL SPOT
Oumar Diakité came close to snatching an equaliser with nine minutes to go. But his header went over the bar. The hosts finally found the equaliser in the last minute through Simon Adingra to take the match to extra time.
Just as when the match was going to a penalty shootout, Diakité netted the winner for the hosts in the last minute of extra-time.
He was given a second yellow for taking his shirt off during the goal celebrations. Malian Hamari Traoré was also shown a red card for his reaction to the match officials before the final whistle.
RELATED STORY: Evidence Makgopa’s heartfelt pledge to Hugo Broos ahead of AFCON crunch tie
