AFCON hosts Equatorial Guinea coach Esteban Becker has admitted his team were under pressure to win their opening Group A match against Congo, but they will be make do with the draw.
Congo forced Nzalang Nacional to a 1-1 draw with a late equaliser on Saturday to open the 2015 Nations Cup.
“We had only 10 days to prepare and we had 30,000 people at the stadium pushing us on, so there was pressure,” said the Argentine coach, who led Equatorial Guinea to win the 2012 African Women’s Championship on home soil.
“But I’m very happy with this match. We played very well and we could have won it and so it was painful when they drew level in the final minutes.
“A draw was a right result. But we are a team for the future. This is the beginning of a new process with many young players and few experienced ones like (Javier) Balboa.”
The hosts next play Burkina Faso on Wednesday also in Bata.