Edmilson Dove reflects on near miss against Egypt in AFCON opener

The Mambas were denied all three points by a late Mohamed Salah penalty and had to share the spoils instead when they were close to registering victory in their first game at the continental tournament since 2010. 

Dove says the 2-2 draw, although not what they wanted, gives them belief in the two fixtures that follow from their group.

READ: AFCON Wrap: Mohamed Salah salvages a point for Pharaohs

"We knew it wasn't gonna be an easy game. We didn't start so well on the first half. We suffered a goal too early in the game but obviously we kept believing and we came back. It's not easy playing Egypt but I guess the belief that we have in each other and in the process and in everything that the coach gives, it worked for us. Unfortunately, we couldn't walk with all the three points but I think we'll take a draw and start preparing for the next games," Dove said.

Asked by SABC Sport about the decision to award the penalty following a VAR check at that stage of the game, Dove put it down to forced errors that can go either way.

"Obviously, those are things that happen in football and you have a split second, I didn't see clearly but I guess the referee had a look at it and they decided what they thought it was. We just need to carry on and continue working hard and hoping that the next game, we can get a better result," Dove added.

Mozambique next face Cape Verde on Friday, and having won over the crowd at the Stade Felix Houphouet Boigny in Abidjan by proving to be no pushovers against Egypt, the experienced Dove hopes they can only build from this.

"It's a matter of belief and for me, we're just gonna build in everything that we've been doing. We are trusting the process and believing in all that the coach tries to give us during training sessions.

“We'll take one game at a time and we'll see what happens at the end. This is pleasing and it's an honour for us, you know, we are too far away from home and the fact that we came here probably without support and we walk out of here with support, it means we did something to make everyone that was at the stadium proud and pleased.

“So, we're just hoping to continue with those performances and probably try and better whatever didn't go well. We're hoping next game we can do better than today."