A solitary goal from Stephane Sessegnon handed Benin a 1-0 win over Gambia in a CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Group D qualifier at the Stade de l'Amitié de Kouhounou in Cotonou on Sunday.

The win sees Benin off to the perfect start in the Afcon 2019 qualifying campaign as they move to the top of Group D with three points while Gambia occupy the bottom spot.

Algeria and Togo are the other two teams in Group D and are only in action late on Sunday night when the Fennec Foxes host the Sparrow Halks in Blida.

The match in Cotonou on Sunday was not the most entertaining with both sides playing some sloppy football with numerous passes going astray and shots on goal were also way off target.

Neither side could create any significant goal scoring chances in the opening half which resulted in the sides going into the break locked at 0-0.

The start of the second half saw Benin playing much better football and they were rewarded for their efforts with the game’s only goal in the 54th minute courtesy of a strike from Stephane Sessegnon, 1-0.

The home side continued to control matters after taking the lead, but they could not make their possession count.

Gambia saw very little of the ball and in the end were lucky to only lose by a single goal.

The next set of Afcon 2019 qualifiers are only in March next year when Benin travel to Togo and Gambia host Algeria.