Abdou Traoré enters the game and replaces S. Yatabaré.
Kasperczak makes one final change, as Yatabare makes way for Abdou Traore.
90' +2
HEARTBREAK FOR MALI! Keita's free-kick is saved by Ondoa, with the Barcelona man palming the ball straight to Yatabare. The attacker heads in the rebound and sparks joyous celebrations, but the assistant has his flag up for offside and replays show the decision is correct.
90'
Mali break forward and get some momentary respite from the Cameroon pressure. Sylla finds himself in possession on the edge of the area and, although his control isn't great, he wins a free-kick from Loe.
88'
It's all Cameroon now. The Indomitable Lions are pouring men forward in hope of scraping a desperate late win, but Mali are holding firm at the moment.
86'
M. Maïga enters the game and replaces M. Yatabaré.
Kasperczak's latest throw of the dice sees former West Ham man Maiga introduced, with Mustapha Yatabare withdrawn.
84'
A. Oyongo has scored a goal for Cameroon! Assist by R. Loé.
GOAL!!! CAMEROON ARE LEVEL! Brilliant pass into the danger area by Loe and Oyongo, up from the right-back position, produces a delightful first touch before stroking past the helpless Diakite.
83'
It's kicking off a bit here. Sylla tracks back and clears the ball away from Etoundi, before the two clash on the ball. But the former Aston Villa man goes down like he'd been shot after a slight headbutt.
81'
And now Kasperczak responds. N'Diaye makes way, with Doumbia taking his place in the midfield engineroom.
80'
T. Doumbia enters the game and replaces M. N'Diaye.
Minute
Description
79'
There is Finke's attempt to change things. M'Bia's brother Etoundi makes his way on to the pitch and replaces Kom, who suffers the ignominy of being a substituted substitute.
78'
F. Etoundi enters the game and replaces F. Kom.
77'
Fine goalkeeping from Diakite as the stopper watches Moukandjo's cross all the way and produces an excellent, confident claim, taking the danger out of the situation.
75'
We have another pause in play now. Moukandjo is down and is some pain after a clash of heads with Coulibaly, who took no prisoners there. The Cameroon man should be well enough to continue, though.
73'
This has put Mali in a wonderful position now. Cameroon really have to come out and play now, potentially creating the opportunity for Kasperczak's men to play on the counterattack again, as they did to good effect in the first half.
71'
S. Yatabaré has scored a goal for Mali! Assist by S. Kéita.
GOAL!!! MALI HAVE THE LEAD! Keita hooks a free-kick into the area from the left wing and Cameroon fail to cope with it. The ball finds its way through to Sambou Yatabare and the midfielder, who had been unimpressive until now, slams a low half-volley into the bottom-left corner.
69'
Mali win themselves a corner now as Sambou Yatabare finds himself in the left side of the area, chasing the bouncing ball. He tries to hook a volley back into the danger zone, but it is blocked behind for a corner.
67'
Tamboura has hobbled off the pitch, though it remains to be seen whether he comes back on. Loe is now down hold his knee, however, with the midfielder clashing with Mustapha Yatabare this time.
65'
There's another strong challenge from a Cameroonian. Loe is the culprit this time, as the Osasuna man and Tamboura crash into each other with neither giving an inch. The Mali man comes off worse and appears to be in some pain.
63'
JUST WIDE! Moukandjo races on to a pass played in behind the Mali defence. He charges down the outside of Coulibaly and takes up possession inside the area, before shooting from a tight angle. His effort bobbles across the face of goal and then goes out for a goal-kick.
61'
Sako has been quiet so far in the second half, but he finally comes to life down the left flank. He gets past Oyongo and is then clattered into by N'Koulou, who takes the ball away. That could quite easily have been a penalty.
59'
After a bit of a delay, Chedjou eventually takes the free-kick. The centre-back attempted to curl the ball over the wall, while also looking for it to dip under the crossbar. But Diakite in the goal watched it sail harmlessly over.
57'
Fantastic skill by Salli! The little midfielder charges forward, running at the Cameroon defence while keeping the ball in the air with a series of headers, somewhat imitating a seal. Eventually it drops down for him and he cuts inside Coulibaly, who commits a foul.
55'
Cameroon are starting to resort to aimless long balls from the back. Even during their frustrated spells in the first half they were still looking to use shorter passes. Unsurprisingly, Salli is unable to make the most of N'Koulou's ball, with Diakite nudging him out of the way.
53'
Good defending by Coulibaly as he covers over to the left to deal with Moukandjo. The attacker tries to make ground down the right and cross, but the Mali centre-back pokes the ball behind for a corner, which itself ultimately comes to nothing.
51'
The second half hasn't really got going yet. Cameroon appear more willing to commit men forward, with the service to Aboubakar noticeably better so far. However, Mali are looking particularly happy to sit back.
49'
It's a decent delivery from Moukandjo and Aboubakar looks to get on the end of it. However, Sylla beats him to it and flicks the ball on to the Cameroon man, with it swiftly going out for a goal-kick.
48'
Coulibaly hasn't had a great start to the second half. On this occasion is goes in hard on Aboubakar and catches him late, conceding a free-kick towards the left flank. What can Cameroon muster here?
47'
Aboubakar sees his chance with little more than a minute played. The Porto forward controls a pass and is surprisingly given a lot of space by Coulibaly, allowing him to get a shot away. However, it sails comfortably wide of the top-right corner.
46'
Off we go for the second half. Can these two be separated? We will find out over the course of the next 45 minutes!
45' +1
HALF-TIME!
45'
There will be 1 minute added on here.
43'
Salli drops a free-kick delivery in the penalty area from about 40 yards. There are plenty of bodies in the danger area and Choupo-Moting manages to get a header to it, though his effort sails comfortably wide of the target.
41'
CHANCE FOR CAMEROON! Fine cross from Bedimo out on the left flank, with the delivery finding its way all the way through to Moukandjo at the back post. The attackers gets a header away, but he nods wide under pressure from Tamboura.
39'
N'Diaye looks a little sheepish now! The midfielder catches Choupo-Moting, as the Schalke man marches towards goal and he is quick to leave the scene as he looks to avoid picking up a second yellow card.
37'
Contentious call there. Mustapha Yatabare again tries to get in behind the Cameroon defence to bring down a lofted pass and he manages to get a wild half-volley away, which ultimately goes over. But again, the forward was flagged offside, even though replays seem to suggest that a defender nudged it on to him.
35'
Glorious pass from Keita! The Roma man spots the run of Mustapha Yatabare from a deep position and he plays the ball over the Cameroon defence. The forward meets it with a header and tests Ondoa, who deals with it theatrically, although the assistant's flag is up for offside.
33'
Mustapha Yatabare causes problems again as he latches on to a clever lofted pass from his brother Sambou. The forward gets away from the grasp of N'Koulou and shoots left-footed, with Ondoa palming it wide when he should have left it.
31'
Cameroon are starting to look a little frustrated out there. They are struggling to exploit their possession when they do find themselves on the ball, while Mali are having a lot of joy on the break, even if they haven't made the most of their chances.
29'
ONDOA TO THE RESCUE! Mali are lightning fast on the counterattack and they catch Cameroon seriously short at the back. Sako runs at Oyongo and then breezes past him as if he wasn't there. The Wolves man opts to shoot instead of finding Yatabare in the area, but the Cameroonian goalkeeper makes the save.
27'
Aboubakar threatens to burst into life as he picks up the ball in a deep position, drives at the Mali defence, skips past one defender and then shapes to shoot. But ultimately the Porto man is blocked off.
25'
N'Diaye becomes the first player to earn a yellow card here today as he cynically pulls back Loe in midfield. Cameroon fail to make much from the resulting free-kick, though, as Mustapha Yatabare heads clear.
24'
M. N'Diaye gets yellow.
Choupo-Moting seemingly sparks into life as he races away from his man, turns towards goal and then blasts from distance. But his effort is sliced high and wide. Not very good at all.
22'
Cameroon have been a little disappointing so far. Their talented attack has been somewhat stifled until now, with Moukandjo, Choupo-Moting and Aboubakar generally quiet.
20'
Tamboura is a lucky man there! Oyongo chased the ball down and, although it had already gone out of play, the Mali left-back produced a ridiculous challenge, swiping away at his counterpart in mid-air. Luckily for him he escaped unpunished simply due to play already coming to a halt.
19'
More Cameroon pressure. A cross is lofted into the danger from the right flank and Drissa Diakite finds himself trying to out-jump two attackers. Aboubakar can't quite reach the ball, but Choupo-Moting does and his header is tipped over by Soumbeila Diakite.
18'
CRUCIAL TACKLE! Vincent Aboubakar finally comes to life in attack as he bursts into the area and tries to get a shot away from a tight angle, but Drissa Diakite is there to snuff out the danger.
17'
F. Kom enters the game and replaces E. Enoh.
And there is the change. A few minutes after seemingly coming on for Bedimo, Kom now takes the place of Enoh, who is uable to continue.
15'
Another lovely move by Mali. Moukandjo is robbed in the attacking third and Keita springs a counterattack. He swiflty picks out Mustapha Yatabare, who cleverly beats his man on the halfway line and plays the ball out to the right. N'Diaye then crosses in towards the dangerman in attack, but Chedjou vitally heads away.
14'
There does seem to be a bit of confusion here. Enoh is in some pain now and, while he seeks medical attention, Bedimo appears to set to be brought off. However, he seems to have made a miraculous recovery and Kom heads back to the bench.
12'
MALI MISS AGAIN! Another glorious opportunity goes begging for Kasperczak's men. Sako delivers a fine cross from the right, after his corner is partially clears. Ondoa tries to come and collect, only to completely miss it. However, he is not punished and Mustapha Yatabare can only head wide of the open goal.
11'
MALI DENIED! Mustapha Yatabare finds himself released into the left side of the area by the impressive Sako and he fires a fierce left-footed effort towards goal, but Ondoa palms it away brilliantly.
10'
What a waste from Mali. Sako tries to play the corner into the danger area, but the ball went out of play before it found its way into the area. .
9'
Sako has started very brightly out on the left for Mali. Again he faces Oyongo and manages to curls a cross in after jolting past the right-back. However, as before, N'Koulou clears behind the goal.
8'
This isn't great news for Finke. Bedimo is down and appears to be in some pain. The left-back, one of Cameroon's more experienced players, rampaged forward and was ultimately felled after riding a couple of challenges. There didn't appear to be that much contact, but he is struggling.
6'
Sako comes across to take the corner and plants the ball in the danger area, but Cameroon are swift to clear their lines. Though any chance of a counterattack is quickly vanquished as Salli gives the ball away.
5'
Good play by Sako as the Wolves man allows a pass to run past him, deceiving Oyongo and then racing on to it again. He squeezes a cross into the danger area, but K'Koulou puts it behind.
4'
Scrappy start to proceedings. Cameroon are unsurprisingly seeing more of the ball during the early exchanges, though their distribution has been by no means impressive. The pitch itself seems to be a bit uneven, which isn't playing into the hands of Finke's men.
2'
Cameroon win a free-kick inside the first minute as Taboura goes in hard on Moukandjo and brings the attack down out on the right flank. After a bit of a delay, Oyongo curls a lovely delivery into the area and the goalkeeper manages to punch it away, although not particularly convincingly.
1'
Off we go! Cameroon get us started in Malabo.
Hello and welcome to the LIVE text commentary of the Africa Cup of Nations clash between Mali and Cameroon. My name is Ryan Benson and I will be describing the action for you today as Nuevo Estadio in Malabo hosts this meeting, with these two sides looking to get their respective Group D campaigns off to a winning start.
Mali will be keen to cause something of an upset here today. They face a resurgent Cameroon, who are very much among the favourites despite a shambolic FIFA World Cup last year. But Henryk Kasperczak has plenty available to him, with Keita, Sako, N'Diaye and Mustapha Yatabare capable of causing the Indomitable Lions a few problems. The team finished third in the competition last time and a result today will no doubt provide a massive confidence boost as they get their campaign underway.
Most of the focus before this game has been centred on Volker Finke's Cameroon side, who have undergone something of a powershift since the world's eyes were upon them in Brazil last June. The Indomitable Lions' World Cup campaign was littered with problems, from a row over pay to concerning attitudes in the squad. Many of the old guard have since retired from international football or have simply been ignored, with Alex Song, Samuel Eto'o and Benoit Assou-Ekotto among those missing this month. Stephane M'Bia was appointed as the new captain and, although he is missing today due to suspension, the overall atmosphere around the squad appears significantly better.
The two teams have emerged from the tunnel and are on the pitch. Kick-off is just a few moments away!
Mali 0-0 Cameroon: The referee blows his whistle to end an entertaining first half. Cameroon came into the contest as favourites and among those fancied to win the tournament. Though Mali have produced a fine first-half display, looking particularly dangerous on the counterattack. Proceedings seemed to peter out as half-time approached, but there is plenty left in this, with Cameroon's frontline surely set to wake up in the second period.
Mali 1-1 Cameroon: The referee brings a fairly pulsating contest to a halt as these two sides were ultimately unable to be separated. Kasperczak's men took a deserved lead with 19 minutes to go, with Sambou Yatabare seemingly earning all three points. However, the Indomitable Lions fought back and salvaged a draw thanks to right-back Oyongo, who had previously been given a tough time by Sako. It's all left to play for in Group D!
Commentary
More…