Keita hailed for display

DURBAN – Mali coach Patrice Carteron has praised his skipper Seydou Keita following the Eagles’ second successive third place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament.Mali defeated Ghana 2-1 at a soaked Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday.Looking in the form of his life, Keita netted two minutes into the second half, doubling his side’s lead after Mahamadou Samassa opened the scoring 21 minutes into the tie.“We have a fantastic leader in Seydou Keita,” Carteron said following the match, proudly donning his bronze medal.“He gives so much to his country, not only in football, but he gives so much that he deserves to be nominated.“He is so professional that if he wants, he can play until he is 40 years old. He works really hard, he is unbelievable. He likes football and physically he is fantastic.”The fixture was a repeat of the 2012 Afcon bronze medal playoff, where Mali defeated Ghana 2-0 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, courtesy of a Cheick Tidiane Diabate brace.Ghana’s quest for a fifth Afcon title ended with a semifinal defeat to Burkina Faso in Nelspruit on Wednesday, while Mali suffered their heaviest defeat of the tournament as they went down 4-1 to a rampant Nigeria outfit in Durban.Saturday’s fixture was also a repeat of the two teams’ group B meeting, where a 38th minute Mubarak Wakaso penalty earned Ghana a 1-0 victory at the same venue on January 24.Agencies

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Keita hailed for display