Johannesburg--An own goal condemned All-Africa Games title-holders Ghana to a 1-0 away defeat by Mozambique at the weekend in a 2015 qualifier for the under-23 tournament.
Substitute Kojo Poku put the ball into his own net seven minutes from time after a goalmouth scramble in the first leg of a final-round eliminator.
Oghenekaro Etebo was the chief culprit as Nigeria wasted numerous scoring chances during a 0-0 draw with Zambia in Abuja.
Etebo could have scored three goals in the opening half and another two after half-time as the 'Dream Team' dominated opponents who concentrated on defence.
Zimbabwe put serious financial problems in the national football association behind them to edge record four-time champions Cameroon 1-0 on an artificial Harare pitch.
Wisdom Mutasa scored the winner in the 22nd minute, finishing a low cross that went into the net off a post.
Sudan used home advantage to build a 2-0 lead over South Africa before a capacity 15,000 crowd in El-Obeid, 500 kilometres south of Khartoum.
Maher Osman scored his third goal in as many qualifiers midway through the opening half and Athar al-Tahir doubled the lead in the second half.
Giant-killers Burundi came unstuck at home against Egypt, losing 2-0 with Mahmoud 'Trezeguet' Hassan and Mostafa Fahmy scoring first-half goals.
Alassane Sanogo netted three minutes from time to earn Burkina Faso a come-from-behind 2-1 win over neighbours Ivory Coast in Ouagadougou.
And Senegal hold a slight advantage in another west Africa derby after holding Mali 2-2 in Bamako.
Return matches are scheduled for April 10-12 with the seven overall winners securing tournament places along with hosts and automatic qualifiers Congo.
The multisport, 16-day All-Africa Games are scheduled for September in Brazzaville, which hosted the first edition in 1965.
AFP
