Niger coach Harouna Doula has bemoaned his side’s heavy 5-0 loss to hosts Algeria in the first semi-final at the ongoing TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022 at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium, Oran in Algeria on Tuesday.

Doula’s outfit had not conceded a goal going into this fixture but a coaching masterclass from his counterpart Madjid Bougherra saw them outplayed on Tuesday night.

“Following such a loss, all I can say is that nothing worked today. We were unable to recover the ball. It is not understandable to lose so many passes. We had so much respect for the Algerian team. We have learnt so many lessons,” Doula said in a disappointed manner to the media in the post-match press conference.

He continued, “We did not try hard enough but maybe we were not strong-willed enough to play this game. If we had started with a physical presence, we could have had a chance. All the best to Algeria and hope they win their next game.

There was some pressure but I do not think that that is why we lost. Pressure is not something that will lead to this. Some players who can play 90 or even 120 minutes were not physically up for the task so I made early substitutions [Ousseini Badamassi for Faysal Abdoulaye while Moussa Kassa Moudou replaced Bilyamine Moussa]. We shall review what happened during the game. The fans might have played a role.”

Niger played three games in preparation for this tournament and Doula admitted that he initially thought that that would have helped them in this game.

“This is the fourth time we are playing Algeria. We lost 2-0 in Tunisia and prior to that twice here in Algeria. I thought we would win the next game between us and this game would have been the perfect moment so that we make them make mistakes and explore them but we fell short today,” Doula explained.

He further added that, “Reaching this far in the tournament is a success for us as a team. I would have loved to prepare for the final but now, instead we shall prepare to play the third-place playoff on Friday. This loss is not the end of the journey. We have to keep fighting harder. We cannot start pointing fingers at anyone. We shall try to continue encouraging the players to believe in themselves in the competition.”

Niger will face the loser between Senegal and Madagascar for a place on the podium at the Miloud Hadefi Stadium in Oran on February 3.

Ayem Mahious scored two goals as hosts Algeria hammered Niger 5-0 to reach the final of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) on Tuesday.

Mahious scored his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament in the first-half to secure the emphatic victory for the Desert Warriors in Oran.

Captain Ayoub Abdellaoui opened the floodgates before Mahious’ brace extended the lead to 3-0 before an own goal by Boureima Katakore put the home side in the driving seat at hlalf-time.

Substitute Sofiane Bayazid sealed the emphatic victory with just seven minutes left to give the home side the biggest win of the tournament so far.

The Desert Foxes took the lead in the 15th minute after constant pressure on the opponent’s area yielded the necessary result when goalkeeper Mahamadou Djibo made a hash of Abderrahmane Meziane’s corner.

Captain Abdellaoui, who was lurking at the far post, latched on with a header to put his side into the lead and send the home fans agog.

Niger just could not settle afterwards as Mahious caught the ball on the half-volley at the 23rd minute to beat Djibo for the second time in the afternoon for his fourth goal of the competition.

Algeria extended their lead to 3-0 as another set-piece delivery in the 34th minute was headed by Mahious and the ball went past Djibo for the striker’s second goal of the match.

A stunned Harouna Doula made two quick changes to help halt the commanding style of the Desert Foxes with supersub Ousseini Badamassi substituted in for impetus upfront for the Menas.

But the situation did not change as once again the set-piece was the undoing of Niger. A corner from the right by Belkhiter was turned in by Niger skipper Abdoulaye Kakore to make it 4-0 before the break.

There was no way back for Niger and the 39,000 fans at the packed Miloud Hadefi Stadium started the celebrations thanks to the emphatic first-half performance from the host nation.

Algeria returned from the break and with Sunday’s final already in mind, they adopted a more of a conservative approach that allowed Niger to come into the game strongly by creating some few anxious moments.

The Menas had their first shot on target at the 59th minute when Badamassi Ousseini’s header was parried by Farid Chaal, who had been alert for most of the game.

Both sides made several substitutions and this added more bite to Niger’s attack as they fought back bravely resulting in a free-kick after a foul on Boubacar Hainikoye at the edge of the area at the 78th minute. Adamou Ibrahim’s resultant shot was on target but did not have enough power to beat Chaal. 

The home-based Desert Foxes finished the game off as second-half substitute Bayazid netted at the 83rd minute, after a VAR review overruled the referee’s initial off-side call.

The goal sealed the victory for the Algerians and put them in the final of the CHAN for the first time in their history just as impressive striker Mahious was put in the driving seat of the Golden Boot race with five goals, two more than Madagascar’s Koloina Razafindranaivo.

Algeria will face the winner of Tuesday’s other semi-final match between Madagascar against Senegal in Saturday’s final of the tournament at the Nelson Mandela Stadium.