Africa Cup of Nations 2013: Mali coach Patrice Carteron blasts referee

Mali coach Patrice Carteron criticised referee Noumandiez Doue for not sending off Ghana’s goalkeeper after his side suffered a narrow defeat in Group B of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Shot-stopper Fatau Dauda received a yellow card despite handling outside the area with just five minutes played, as Mubarak Wakaso’s first-half penalty separated the sides.

But Mali mustered just one shot on target against the Black Stars and Carteron admitted they were the weaker side.

“The referee did not help us because he ought to have sent off the Ghana goalkeeper rather than just booking him,” said Carteron.

“Ghana were better, especially in the first half, but we still have a game to qualify for the next round and so we will forget this match and focus on our next game.”

Despite the victory, Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah believes his side are not yet at their best after they moved top of Group B and qualified for the last eight with a game to spare.

After surrendering a two-goal lead over DR Congo in their opening match, Appiah was pleased with his side’s improved performance but feels there is more to come.

“We were much more tactically disciplined in this game than against DR Congo. There was no loss of concentration during the game,” he said.

“I would say that we still got much to offer. We can do much, much better than what we did today. I just hope that we keep going and we see more of them.”