September 10, (THEWILL) – Rwanda secured a late point against African champions, Senegal, in their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday evening.
Playing at the Stade Huye in Butare, the hosts were able to contain the Senegalese for much of the match through solid defending. However, Senegal took a second half lead through Mamadou Lamine Camara’s well taken finish.
Rwanda, who initially came out fighting in the second half, now faced an uphill battle. Senegal looked to be seeing out the win until a late Rwandan fightback. In stoppage time, Olivier Niyonzima was able to level the scoreline after being played in by Christian Ishimwe. The draw saw Rwanda finish their qualifying campaign with three points from three draws of the six matches played.
As Senegal had already secured their place at the tournament, they opted to field a changed side for the match. The result makes little difference to either team’s standings, with Senegal still topping the group.
The match did see history made however, as 15 year old Amara Diouf came off the bench to become Senegal’s youngest ever player.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
