Ouagadougou: The Stallions of Burkina Faso began the African Cup of Nations (CAN) football tournament on Tuesday evening at the Bouaké Peace Stadium with a narrow victory against the Mourabitounes of Mauritania (1-0) in a difficulty match, we observed on site. The Stallions started the match with difficulty against the Mourabitounes. Cornered in the first period, Velud's men recovered in the second half. The entries of Bertrand Traoré and Fessal Tapsoba added percussion to the game for the Burkinabè team in attack. Captain Bertrand Traoré launches his right side Issa Kaboré who comes up against the Mauritanian defense. Without reserve Mohamed Dellha Yali mows down the Lutton Town (England) full-back within 18m. It was necessary to use VAR to whistle a penalty for Burkina Faso in stopping time. Without trembling, Bertrand Traoré opened the score (90+5) before the referee whistled the end of the game. For Burkinabè coach Hubert Velud 'this victory was achieved with a bit of difficulty. We went very far to ge t this victory. We expected these kinds of matches. We were not surprised by the opposition.' He said he was happy 'to offer this victory to the Burkinabè people because the country is going through difficult times'. The French technician recognizes that the opponent had a very big match. 'A mixed first half on our part. Not enough provocation, not enough depth too. Lots of failed dribbles, lots of missed side passes. The opponent took advantage of our turnovers in the first half.' 'On the other hand, in the second half Mauritania plunged physically. We were much better physically than them. It allowed us to be more dangerous, to be more towards their goal. We made changes that gave us a lot more percussion. When you put people in who give you depth, you have a greater tendency to verticalize the game. That's what happened in the second half.' The Mourabitounes coach cries injustice Mourabitounes coach Amir Abdou said he had a 'feeling of injustice. It's about game facts at the end. We had chances and we didn't take advantage of them. We were punished for a lack of lucidity after a decision by the VAR. 'A penalty where I didn't see the images,' mentioned the Mauritania coach. 'We should have scored. They had 4 clear chances. We only had 2. This will serve as a lesson for us and we will continue to move forward. We need to move on and not dwell on what happened today. There was the heat factor which was important for the teams. Lots of suffering. It is up to us to turn the page and prepare against Angola,' he said. He recognizes that many of his players do not play in the championship. 'It affects high-level matches,' he says. Burkina Faso is leader in group D with 3 points (+1), followed by Algeria and Angola with 1 point each. Mauritania closes the margin with 0 points (-1). Burkina Faso will face Algeria on January 20 while Angola and Mauritania will meet, counting for the 2nd day of the group. The Ivory Coast CAN takes place from January 13 to February 11. Source: Burkina Information Agency
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