Egypt mark return to Nations Cup with Mali stalemate

By Mark Gleeson

PORT GENTIL ( Reuters) - Egypt marked their return to the African Nations Cup finals with a dour 0-0 draw against Mali in Group D on Tuesday, as 44-year-old Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary became the oldest player in the tournament’s history.

It was a tough physical contest on a poor pitch with little to entertain the crowd at the newly-built Port Gentil stadium, as the two teams rounded-off the first round of group matches at the three-week tournament. El Hadary, who had been Egypt's first-choice keeper for two World Cup qualifiers late last year, was dropped for Tuesday's match, but came on in the 23rd minute after Ahmed El Shenawi injured himself scrambling to tip away a curling cross. He had little to do for the remainder of the first half as both teams struggled to break through tight defences, although Mali's Lassana Coulibaly missed a good opportunity from Moussa Marega’s cross in the 42nd minute. Egypt’s first real chance came after the break when Marwan Mohsen surged through to head a clever cross from Abdallah El Said, but his effort was tipped over by Mali's goalkeeper. The game remained a bruising midfield battle with too many mistakes and hardly any goal-scoring chances and it was only near the end of the game that El Hadary was called into action to come out to make a one-handed stop to deny Marega.

Egypt won three back-to-back Nations Cup titles between 2006 and 2010, but then did not qualify for the next three editions.

In Tuesday's other Group D match, Ghana's Andre Ayew scored a first-half penalty to secure a 1-0 victory over Uganda.

(Editing by Toby Davis)