Benin finally brought an end to their long, painful wait for an Africa Cup of Nations victory after edging Botswana 1–0 in a tense Group D encounter at the Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah Olympique Annexe in Rabat.
Coming into the match under real pressure, the Squirrels had lost their opening game to DR Congo and were winless in their previous 15 AFCON outings.
Botswana were in a similarly desperate position after a 3–0 defeat to Senegal, and with both sides chasing their first points of the tournament, the stakes were unmistakably high in what was their first-ever meeting at the finals.
Botswana showed early intent and should have gone ahead in the 20th minute when Tumisang Orebonye found space inside the box, but Benin goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou reacted sharply to parry the low effort.
That miss proved decisive. Eight minutes later, Benin capitalised, as Steve Mounié slipped a clever pass through the defence and Roche reacted quickest, steering the ball home from the edge of the area to hand his side the lead.
The Zebras came agonisingly close to an equaliser just before the interval. Johnson’s expertly curled free kick cleared the wall and had Dandjinou beaten, only to smash against the crossbar and bounce away, summing up Botswana’s misfortune on the night.
Benin carried the greater attacking threat after the break, controlling possession and pinning Botswana deep for long spells. Tamimou Ouorou missed a golden opportunity to double the advantage midway through the second half, firing wide from close range with the goalkeeper out of position.
Despite that let-off, Botswana struggled to generate sustained pressure, reduced largely to hopeful balls forward.
As the clock ticked down, Benin showed composure and defensive discipline, limiting Botswana to half chances and protecting their slender lead to secure a long-awaited AFCON victory and breathe life into their qualification hopes.
Benin will now turn their attention to a daunting clash against group leaders Senegal on December 30, while Botswana, staring at early elimination, face DR Congo in a must-win final group fixture.
