Soccer-Toothless Egypt held by Comoros as Algeria, Ghana win
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Egypt, without injured striker Mo Salah, lacked a cutting edge in front of goal as they were held to a 0-0 draw by tiny Comoros Islands in their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Monday.
Midfielder Kahraba struck the crossbar early on and forward Trezeguet missed a one-on-one chance in the second period, but Egypt also had goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy to thank for important saves.
The result follows a 1-1 home draw with Kenya in their Group G opener on Thursday and was wildly celebrated by the home fans, who invaded the pitch at the final whistle.
In the other Group G game, Kenya and Togo drew 1-1. Johanna Omolo put the east Africans in front before Hakim Ouro-Sama equalised for the visitors.
African champions Algeria were made to sweat but collected a 1-0 victory in Botswana as Youcef Belaili netted after 15 minutes to ensure a full haul of six points from their opening two games in Group H.
Ghana needed a second half penalty from Jordan Ayew to claim a 1-0 success over Sao Tome and Principe on a difficult artificial surface as they also made it two wins from two in Group C.
Pa Modou Jagne scored an injury-time equaliser for Gambia in a 2-2 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Group D to follow on from their surprise 3-1 success in Angola last week.
Cedric Bakambu and Jackson Muleka netted for the Congolese, who led twice in the contest, but Bubacarr Jobe and Jagne rescued a point for the home side.
It was a similar story in Praia, where Mozambique scored in injury time at the end of the game to salvage a 2-2 draw against hosts Cape Verde Islands.
The home side also led twice as Garry Rodrigues and Ryan Mendes netted, but Edson Mexer found the first equaliser before striker Witi netted for the visitors in injury-time to secure an excellent away point.
The top two nations in each pool advance to the 24-team finals scheduled to be held in Cameroon. (Reporting By Nick Said, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
