TUNIS, Feb 7: A blunder by Guinea goalkeeper Kemoko Camara handed Mali a 2-1 injury-time win in their African Nations Cup quarterfinal on Saturday.

Camara allowed a seemingly harmless shot by midfielder Mahamadou Diarra to slip through his arms and into the net as the Eagles reached their second consecutive Nations Cup semi-final after a match littered with defensive blunders.

Camara sat disconsolately in his goal at the end.

Girondins Bordeaux midfielder Pascal Feindouno put Guinea ahead in the 15th minute but Mali's Frederic Kanoute equalised with his fourth goal of the tournament in first half injury-time following a mistake by Schumann Bah.

Guinea missed three good chances in the last 10 minutes and had also wasted a chance 2-0 ahead seconds before Kanoute's equaliser.

Mali, though, should have taken the lead in the third minute when Dramane Traore broke clear of a square Guinea defence but shot straight at Camara.

Guinea then went ahead after Mali lost possession on the left. Souleymane Youla collected the ball and fed Aboubacar Titi Camara.

The former Olympique Marseille, West Ham and Liverpool striker resisted the temptation to shoot and slipped the ball to Feindouno, who placed his shot under Mahamadou Sidibe.

Guinea nearly doubled their lead in first-half injury time when Camara, who failed to score for the first time in the tournament, set up Youla but the Turkish-based player fired straight at Sidibe from an excellent position.

Mali went straight downfield and equalised with almost the last kick of the half.

Kanoute, who had earlier seen a powerful volley tipped over, pounced and lobbed the ball into the net after Guinea full-back Bah tried to head the ball back to the goalkeeper but missed.

Kanoute wasted Mali's best second-half chance when he shot straight at Camara after Dramane Traore had sent him clear with a defence-splitting pass. Traore himself had earlier been denied when his far-post volley was parried by Sidibe.

Fanare and Titi Camara were both close to late winners for Guinea, who also hit the post with a shot which ricocheted off a Mali defender.

Mali appeared happy to hang on for extra time until Camara's astonishing mistake.-Reuters