A late goal from Baghdad Bounedjah helped Algeria earn a 2-2 draw against Burkina Faso in their Africa Cup of Nations group stage clash at the Stade de Bouaké in Bouaké.

An equaliser by Bounedjah cancelled out Burkina Faso’s first goal through Mohamed Konate. But a penalty by Bertrand Traore put the Stallions back in front, much to the delight of their many fans in the over 33,000-person crowd in Bouake, Ivory Coast’s second city.

At that point, Burkina Faso looked like they would win, but Bounedjah scored again at the very end to tie the game again. With three goals, he tied Emilio Nsue of Equatorial Guinea for the tournament’s top scorer.

Burkina Faso finished second in the 2013 Cup of Nations and made it to the semi-finals at the last tournament in Cameroon. They have four points from two games in Group D and are still on track to make it to the next round, where they will play Angola.

Algeria’s first game was tied 1-1 with Angola. They now have two points, and all they need is a win against Mauritania on Tuesday to move on.

It looked like they might lose again like they did two years ago, when Djamel Belmadi’s team went to Cameroon as the defending African champions but were eliminated in the group stage with only one point and one goal scored. Bounedjah’s late goal saved them.

Still, Riyad Mahrez and his teammates clearly had a hard time in the stifling midday heat, and they will be glad that their last game is in the evening.

Burkina Faso took the lead three minutes into extra time at the end of the first half. Their French coach, Hubert Velud, has worked with several Algerian clubs before.

A great ball came in from the left side of the pitch, and Konate, a striker from Russia, headed it home off the shoulder of the last defender. A VAR check showed that he was onside, so the goal was given.

In the sixth minute after the restart, Algeria tied the game when Bounedjah scored from close range after a lot of action in the goalmouth.

But in the middle of the second half, Burkina Faso was given a penalty because VAR saw that Rayan Ait-Nouri had kicked Issa Kabore in the shin while trying to clear the ball.

Traore, a forward for Aston Villa, scored the penalty after coming on as a substitute. He did this again to give Burkina Faso a 1-0 win over Mauritania in their first game.

Algeria responded by taking out wingers Mahrez and Youcef Belaili. Bounedjah’s header in the 95th minute saved the day.

Photo by Djaffar Ladjal/BackpagePix