BAMAKO (Interstat) — Bakaridjan erased a one-goal deficit and scored an 88th-minute winner to beat Afrique Foot Elite 2-1 on Sunday at Stade Mamadou Konaté. The home side conceded in the 14th minute, equalized in the 72nd and completed the comeback in the closing stages of the match in Bamako.

Afrique Foot Elite struck first in the 14th minute, taking the early lead and forcing Bakaridjan to respond from behind. The visitors maintained that advantage through the first half and into the second, while Bakaridjan worked to find a way back into the match. The home side’s breakthrough came in the 72nd minute, when Bakaridjan leveled the score and shifted the momentum of the contest.

Bakaridjan continued to press after the equalizer and found the decisive goal in the 88th minute. The late finish completed the turnaround and gave the home side a victory in its opening match of the competition. Afrique Foot Elite, which had led since the 14th minute, could not hold on through the final stretch.

The result leaves Bakaridjan at 1-0 in this competition and 1-0 across all competitions. Afrique Foot Elite is now 0-1 in this competition and 0-1 across all competitions. The match was played at Stade Mamadou Konaté in Bamako, with Bakaridjan turning a first-half deficit into a second-half win.

Bakaridjan’s comeback came after a slow start in which Afrique Foot Elite scored early and protected the lead. The equalizer in the 72nd minute gave the home side renewed energy, and the winner in the 88th minute arrived before the match entered its final moments. The sequence of goals told the story of the game: Afrique Foot Elite opened the scoring, Bakaridjan answered after halftime, and Bakaridjan found the final goal late.

For Bakaridjan, the win marked a successful start in the competition and across all competitions. For Afrique Foot Elite, the loss followed a promising beginning and an early lead that did not last. The visitors remained within one goal until the late winner, but Bakaridjan’s second-half response proved decisive.

Bakaridjan’s second-half performance changed the match after Afrique Foot Elite had done enough to lead through the opening hour. The equalizer gave the home side a platform, and the late winner turned that platform into a result. The match remained a one-goal contest until the 88th minute, when Bakaridjan found the finish that separated the teams at Stade Mamadou Konaté.

Bakaridjan’s victory was built on its response after conceding first. The home side stayed within reach during the opening half, then changed the match with the 72nd-minute goal. When the winning goal came in the 88th minute, Bakaridjan had completed a rally that had been building after the break. Afrique Foot Elite was left with a defeat despite scoring first and holding the lead for much of the match.

The game’s scoring order was clear from the start: Afrique Foot Elite scored in the 14th minute, Bakaridjan scored in the 72nd minute, and Bakaridjan scored again in the 88th minute. The home side’s two late goals overturned the early deficit and gave Bakaridjan the win at Stade Mamadou Konaté.

Bakaridjan’s record in the competition now stands at 1-0, and its record across all competitions is also 1-0. Afrique Foot Elite’s record in the competition is 0-1, and its record across all competitions is 0-1. The match was the first competition fixture of the season for both sides, and the result gave Bakaridjan the full advantage in the standings.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Bakaridjan 1, Afrique Foot Elite 1. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Bakaridjan with an 87.4 percent probability to win. Bakaridjan had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.5. The total score of 3 went under the over/under line of 1.75.