On two occasions Guinea had to come from a goal down to level matters against Tunisia on Wednesday in Group C opener at the 2016 Africa Championship of Nations at the Kigali Regional Stadium in Nyamirambo.
Guinea’s coach, Mohamed Kanfory Bangoura was impressed by his side’s strong character throughout the 90 minutes.
“I wasn’t surprised by the performance of my team although I expected more especially in the scoring department,” Bangoura said during the post-match press conference. “What surprised me was how we played under the influence of the Tunisia team but I was also surprised by the manner in which we recovered” he added.
Guinea went a goal down after 32 minutes when Tunisia’s leading marksman Ahmed Akaichi took advantage of a defensive mix-up. At the time, Guinea were a man down with Mohamed Youla preparing to come on for injured Ibrahima Aminata Conde.
Seven minutes later Guinea’s Alseny Camara leveled matters in a game Tunisia relied on counterattacks while Guinea preferred to impose themselves.
Akaichi completed his brace five minutes after the break before Alseny Camara salvaged a point for Guinea with eight minutes to play.
Both teams will have to collect points off Nigeria and Niger if they are to comfortably advance to the knockout stages.