Algeria began the journey to defend their Africa Cup of Nations title withsharing spoils against a resilient Sierra Leone team at Japoma Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Both sides struggled to break the tie in the opening game of the Group E and non of the sides had enough armoury to bag all three points.
John Kamara was tested with a long range shot by Rais M’Bolhi but custodian pulled off a world class save to send away danger from his goal area.
Sierra Leone had the better start in the first stanza however Alhaji Kamara sent two clear chances off the target to keep the score intact.
Defending champions improved immensely in the second half after clearly being lucky tofinish the first half with shared spoils.
After recess Algeria forward Yacine Brahimi shot straight at keeper Mohamed Nbalie Kamara, who also tipped a low shot from Riyad Mahrez past the post.
Sierra Leone shot stopper Kamaralater denied Ramy Bensebaini and Baghdad Bounedjah to find the back of the net in stoppage time of the mouthwatering encounter.
The Sierra Leaon Star managed to keep their first Nations Cup appearance since 1996 and picking a golden point was a great start at the big stage.
Lineups:
Algeria XI: Adi-Rais M’bolhi, Atal, Mandi, Abdelkader Bedrane, Amir Bensebaini, Riyad Mahrez, Haris Belkebla, Youcef Belaili, Yacine Brahimi, Islam Slimani, Sofiane Feghouli
Sierra Leone: Mohammed Kamara, Osman Kakay, Steven Roy Caulker, Umaru Bangura, Kevin Wright, Mustapha Bundu, Kwame Quee, John Kamara, Mohammed Turay, Kei Ansu Kamara, Alhaji Kamara.
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