Senegal beat Kenya 1-0 and collected their first three points at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. The scoreline is the least revealing part of the match.
Seynabou Mbengue scored in the 35th minute, set up by Ndèye Awa Casset. It was the only shot Mbengue attempted all match. She was substituted in the 78th.
Kenya had twenty attempts. Senegal had sixteen.
Kenya also created more danger: 1.48 expected goals to 1.07.
And they struck the woodwork three times, all of them after the interval. Senegal hit it once.
The difference lay not in reaching the box but in finishing. Expected goals on target read 2.57 for Senegal and 0.95 for Kenya. Senegal put eight shots on target; Kenya managed six, from twenty attempts.
Both goalkeepers made six saves.
Lilian Awuor prevented 1.56 goals, the highest figure of the match, and conceded one. Adji Ndiaye conceded none and prevented 0.95.
Kenya took charge after the break: 56% possession, five corners to none and fifteen touches in the opposition box to six. In that half they generated 1.03 expected goals to Senegal’s 0.57. That is also when all three of their efforts came back off the woodwork.
Tereza Engesha attempted seven shots, more than any other player on the pitch, and accumulated 0.93 expected goals. She did not score. She won all six aerial duels she contested.
Nguenar Ndiaye attempted six shots for Senegal and did not score either.
The match passed with almost no punishment: twenty-seven fouls and a single card, the yellow shown to Airin Madalina in the 89th minute, three minutes after she came on.
Senegal reach the final round on three points, level with Algeria and Morocco, who meet in Rabat later tonight.
Kenya are still without a point and without a goal: none scored in two matches, five conceded.
Group A concludes on 3 August. Senegal face Morocco; Kenya meet Algeria.