Sudan lose focus as Congo strike late for draw in CHAN Group D opener

Group D favorites Sudan appeared set to claim three points on Tuesday but conceded late in a 1-1 draw to share the points with Congo Brazzaville at the Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar.

Substitute forward Ekongo Landou capitalized on a moment of casual defending from the Sudanese, firing in first time from inside the penalty area to level the game in the 86th minute. Sudan nearly rescued the victory in stoppage time but Diables Rouges goalkeeper Simon Samba did spectacularly to smother Mazin Bashir’s header from close range.

After an energetic start from the Congolese, Sudan settled into the game and began to assert themselves with a squad containing a mix of youth and experienced players like Al Hilal Omdurman fullback Faris Abdulla. One of the young players given an opportunity, Al Hilal attacker Musa Hussein Musa, opened the scoring in the 29th minute by reacting quickest to smash in following a goal mouth scramble.

Sudan appeared to keep the Congolese at bay for most of the ninety minutes with opportunities few and far between for either team. However, despite posing little threat for most of the match, Congo equalize when veteran Sudan defender Altayeb Abaker failed to deal with a long ball.

The resulting loss of possession led to a cross that created chaos in front of the Sudanese goal before Ekongo arrived to finish low past Mohamed Al-Nour and snatch a point for underdogs Congo. The Congolese nearly completed a shock victory late in stoppage time but a handball was confirmed by VAR to deny an apparent goal in the final seconds.

Sudan now have a difficult path to the knockout stages starting with their next game, a duel with Nigeria next Tuesday. Congo next face Senegal on the same day.