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Matchday nine was anything but special in Algeria after four teams failed to score a single goal in two matches.
Two interesting matches were played on day nine of the ongoing African Nations Championship, CHAN, in Algeria.
Angola and Mauritania battled it out in Group D while it was a clash of horns in Group E between Congo and Niger Republic.
However, both games failed to live up to their potential after the teams failed to deliver a goal in 180 minutes.
Angola vs Mauritania
Angola dominated the first game of the day with 65% possession, but still struggled to create any meaningful chance against the resolute Mauritania defense.
The first-half of the game was defined by yellow cards, the Angolans had one while Mauritania received two heading into the break.
In the second 45 minutes, it was a much-improved performance from both teams, who had chances to find a breakthrough.
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Mauritania had the first real chance of the game but their captain, Bessam, wasn't composed enough to finish off with just the goalkeeper to beat early on.
The Angolans were presented their chance late on to seal the win but substitute, Julinho, was denied by smart goalkeeping from Namori Diaw.
Congo vs Niger
The second game of the day saw Congo and the Niger Republic battle it out in a Group E encounter. But like the first, this game ended in a barren draw.
It started with two quick-fire yellow cards, with both sides creating nothing tangible at the break.
In the second half, Congo finally thought they had put together the day's best passage of play and move.
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But they were denied by the alert VAR, who stepped up to rule out the goal scored by Deo Bassinga for an offside in the build-up.
And that was the only chance for the two nations in a cold night in the Algerian city of Oran.
What the results mean
After the games, both groups remain very much open heading into the final round of matches which starts later tonight.
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