Senegal forward Sadio Mane continued his hit-and-miss tournament when he scored his third goal of the Africa Cup of Nations but also missed a penalty for the second game running as his side beat Uganda 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals on Friday, reports Reuters.
Mane broke the deadlock in the 15th minute of a physical game after Senegal pounced on a mistake by Uganda, who were in the knockout stages for the first time in 41 years.
However, he squandered the chance to give Senegal some breathing space when his spot kick was saved by goalkeeper Denis Onyango in the 61st minute of a game which featured 45 fouls.
Outsiders Uganda, whose players were involved in a pay dispute with their federation in the run-up to the game, gave Senegal a stern test at a near-deserted Cairo International stadium.
Senegal will play rank outsiders Benin in the quarter-finals after the Squirrels earlier beat Morocco on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Mane has now taken three penalties in the finals, missing one and converting one in the 3-0 win over Kenya where he also scored from open play, before missing again on Friday. Senegal coach Aliou Cisse said, however, that he remained Senegal’s penalty taker. “As the captain, he has our confidence and he will stay the number one for penalties,” Cisse told reporters. “I will have a talk with him about it. “We had the fortune to get an early goal, it was a very physical game but it’s an African match and that is how they are.”
Onyango’s habit of charging off his line had Ugandan nerves on edge throughout the game.
