Senegal have claimed the 7th Edition of UEMOA Championship title after a 1-0 victory over Mali at the Stade de Kégué in Lome,Togo on Saturday.

Senegal showed a vastly improved performance  in the decider and claimed a deserved win in an entertaining match that saw Mali fail to gain revenge after losing two previous finals to Lions of Teranga.

Mali had a wobbly start  but they eventually grew into the game and by half time, despite having less ball possesion,they had proved dominant over the Senegal  who were pursuing their third regional  title.

After restart, Mali continued from where they had left off, piling ever more pressure on a resilient Senegal, but a goal proved to be elusive. It was never going to be easy to penetrate the Senegalese solid defense, which has lent evidence to the fact that Senegal reached the final conceding less goals than any other team in the entire tournament.

But late in second half, things changed,Mali seemed likely to be stretched by Senegal attack ,allowing a corner that they could have avoided. It was in 80th minute when  Aliou Badji utilized a chance from a well taken corner to break the deadlock.

The goal spurred Mali into action and they almost claimed an equaliser with five minutes to go when influential midfielder Abdoulaye Traore shot hit the side net.

Traore had a magnificent chance to equalize late on, but put his shot wide when well-placed to the dissapointment of the crowd.

Senegal XI: Lamine Sarr, Moussa Ba, Mamadou Mbaye, Jean Jacques Ndecky- Soulèye Sarr, Cheikh A B Kane, Krepin Diatta – Aliou Badji, Akhybou Ly, Ibrahima Niane