The manager of Stade Malien has expressed his delight after his side claimed a 2-0 win over Stellenbosch FC in the CAF Confederation Cup.
Making their debut in the Confederation Cup group stage on Wednesday, Stellies succumbed to a 2-0 defeat after Haman Mandjan opened the scoring in the 15th minute, before Daouda Coulibaly put the final nail in the coffin in the 96th minute with a penalty.
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The Cape Town outfit are now rooted to the bottom of Group B, trailing Lunda Sul in third place, Stade Malien in second, and log leaders RS Berkane.
Reacting to his side's performance, the Stade Malien boss Mamoutou Kane said he was pleased with the result, although there were "shortcomings" during the match.
"I am very happy with this victory. The young players performed well. Despite some shortcomings that we will correct, our goal is to go very far in this edition," said Kane, according to FootBoom1.com.
"Special mention to the supporters."
While the result seemed one-sided in favour of the team from Mali, Stellies dominated possession as they had 66% of the ball.
Moreover, the match report also showed that Steve Barker's team made 503 passes compared to Stade Malien's 249.
It is also worth noting that Stellenbosch were in prolific form during the two preliminary rounds of the competition, as they scored a combined 11 goals in home and away matches against Nsingizini Hotspurs of Eswatini and DR Congo outfit AS Vita Club.
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By Lukhanyo Mtuta
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