Mulisa salutes Amavubi after Ghana draw

SATURDAY RESULTS Ghana 1-1 RwandaMozambique 1-0 MauritiusAngola 1-1 MadagascarCape Verde 0-1 LibyaNigeria 1-0 TanzaniaIvory Coast 1-1 Sierra LeoneEthiopia 2-1 SeychellesSenegal 2-0 NamibiaCameroon 2-0 Gambia Amavubi interim head coach Jimmy Mulisa has hailed his players after a 1-all draw against Ghana in their last game of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations Group H qualifying match played on Saturday at Accra Sports Stadium, while title-holders Ivory Coast survived a potential scare from Sierra Leone to qualify. Despite the draw, the Black Stars completed their qualification campaign with an unbeaten record, while Rwanda managed to pick a point to avoid a ‘thumping’ as had been feared in the build-up to the match. Red Bull Salzburg starlet Samuel Tetteh struck the opener with a majestic right-footed effort from inside the box as Ghana dominated possession to create multiple scoring chances. The 2015 finalists had already secured top spot in Group H before Muhadjir Hakizimana equalized with a fine free-kick in the 84th minute for his first international goal. After the match Mulisa said: “Overall, I think we did well in this game, we put out a very strong side that displayed good defensive organization and managed to hold the Black Stars.” “I am happy with the way the players conducted themselves in this game. We have managed to get an away draw against a strong side. I am proud that the players listened to our advice and stuck to the game-plan through out,” Mulisa noted. The former Amavubi forward paid special tribute to Muhadjir who scored the brilliant goal for Amavubi to equalize. “I think as he continues to develop and gain more experience, he will be good for our set-pieces, which is a big role in football,” Mulisa noted. Ghana’s Avram Grant opted to rest key men Jordan Ayew and Christian Atsu, and his decision appeared to have paid off when full debutant Tetteh opened the scoring. Though Ghana dominated for long spells, substitute Hakizimana fired an equaliser just six minutes before the match ended. Aston Villa forward Ayew was then called from the bench and struck the post in the final stages, but Grant’s men had to settle for a point - their 14th of the campaign. Rwanda finished third in Group H with seven points behind Mozambique, which beat Mauritius 1-0 to also end with seven points and second spot due to head to head rule having beaten Amavubi 3-2 in the return game. Mauritius finished bottom of the table with 6 points. Title-holders survive scare Meanwhile, title-holders Ivory Coast cleared a header off their goal-line in stoppage time to hang on to a 1-1 draw against Sierra Leone on Saturday to squeeze into the finals. Ivory Coast qualified for a seventh straight Cup of Nations by winning Group I with six points after drawing twice against Sierra Leone and taking four points off Sudan. Sierra Leone finished with five points and Sudan with four. Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Morocco, Senegal and Zimbabwe secured places ahead of the final round and hosts Gabon are automatic participants as hosts. Another 14 matches were scheduled for Sunday with the remaining five places up for grabs. editorial@newtimes.co.rw