History repeated itself on Saturday, after a first-half Mahamadou Samassa header and an early second-half Seydou Keita strike guided Mali to a second successive third-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), as the Eagles defeated Ghana 3-1 at a soaked Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
The fixture was a repeat of the 2012 Afcon third-place playoff, when Mali defeated Ghana 2-0 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
With cloudy conditions persisting, heavy rain started to fall half-an-hour before kick-off, making conditions increasingly difficult for both free-flowing sets of players.
The Ghanaians dominated the early exchanges and were in with the first chance after five minutes, but skipper Asamoah Gyan’s tame effort on target failed to trouble Mali goalkeeper Soumbeila Diakite, who made a routine save.
Five minutes later, Mahamadou Samassa had Mali’s first opportunity, after the striker was put through on goal, but Samassa fired his shot from a tight angle straight at keeper Fatawu Dauda, who made a solid stop on the ground.
Shortly after, Christian Atsu should have done better for Ghana when he received an excellent delivery across the face of goal from Solomon Asante, but Atsu shot straight at Diakite, with the keeper making a superb reflex save from close-range.
With action swinging from end-to-end, Samassa broke the deadlock in the 21st minute, handing last year’s bronze medalists the early advantage.
Adama Tamboura made a darting run down the left flank after a patient build-up by the Eagles, before putting an accurate ball in the Ghana area, as Samassa made contact with his head from a diving effort, beating Dauda who could do nothing from close-range.
Ghana came back strongly and brought the crowd to their feet as they thought Kwadwo Asamoah’s shot went in, but the Juventus striker could only find the side-netting with his effort from right of the goal.