Izuchukwu Okosi
Reigning African champions Algeria were defeated by minnows Equatorial Guinea 1- 0 Sunday night in their second Group E game of the Africa Cup of Nations to put their chances of advancing to the knockout stages in huge doubt.
Estaban Obiang was the hero for his team as his 70th minute strike from close range off a corner kick proved the difference on the night.
Algeria had drawn their first game of the tournament against Sierra Leone and that goalless draw means that they have lost their unbeaten run in 35 games dating back to October 2018.
The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire who were last continental champions in 2015, were held 2-2 by Sierra Leone earlier and the group remains wide open but with Algeria bottom on just one point.
The Elephants were only two minutes away from bagging maximum points, but the Leone Stars capitalised on goalkeeper Badra Ali Sangare’s gaffe and made it 2-2 through substitute Alhaji Kamara at the Japoma Stadium in Douala, Cameroon.
It was a tense moment for Cote d’Ivoire in added time as their skipper Serge Aurier was forced to go in goal after goalkeeper Sangare was carried off injured.
After just 10 minutes played in the game, the Ivorians earned a penalty after Wilfried Zaha was knocked down in the box by defender Osma Konate. But the Sierra Leone goalkeeper Mohamed Nbalie Kamara was up to the task when he reacted well to stop Franck Yannick Kessie’s spot kick placed in the bottom right corner.
After 22 minutes Ajax striker Sebastien Haller made it 1-0 for Cote d’Ivoire. He received a neat defensive splitting pass from Zaha and made no mistake finding the net.
In the second half, Cote d’Ivoire intensified their attacks for more goals, but it was Sierra Leone who leveled matters after 55 minutes. Musa Kamara beat one defender and made no mistake shooting past the Cote d’Ivoire goalkeeper.
But the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire did not stop attacking and were 2-1 up after 66 minutes after some good inter passing which was eventually set-up by Zaha. Nicolas Pepe blasted the ball in the corner.
With just one minute of added time to the final whistle Cote d’Ivoire’s goalkeeper Sangare failed to get hold a back pass before Kamara made no mistake sliding it in the net. It was all celebrations for the Sierra Leone team after the final whistle.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
