JUBA, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Mali beat South Sudan 3-0 in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification match played at Juba Stadium on Sunday.
The win took Mali top of Group C with six points while South Sudan remain bottom of the table without a point after two matches following a 3-0 loss to Burundi in their first qualifier game last year.
Mali's Moussa Marega opened the scoring in the first half before Salif Coulibaly made it 2-0 in the 67th minute.
The Eagles of Mali completed their remarkable performance in the dying minutes of the game after Adama Traore slotted the ball past South Sudan goal keeper, Khamis Daniel.
The Bright Stars of South Sudan could only manage two shots on target as they failed to penetrate a strong Malian defense.
South Sudan head coach Ahcene Ait-Abdelmalek blamed his side's defeat to lack of preparations, adding that the Bright Stars were lucky to concede only three goals against a strong and experienced Mali side.
He said the team has to work extra hard in order to win and get points in the remaining four group matches against Gabon, Burundi and away to Mali. Enditem
