02:14
Fitness 2021
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| Keita giving Yeye a wedgie during Mali v SA game AFCON 2013 |
It was a beautiful day of football on the second of February
2013 during the AFCON 2013. Ghana played against the giant killers Cape Verde
and Mali faced the hosts Bafana Bafana. The first quarter finals were clashes
between group A of AFCON 2013 and group B of AFCON 2013.
Ghana v Cape Verde
Ghana had been one of the favourites to win the tournament
since the beginning of the AFCON, they had also supported the favourite tag by
coming out top of their group with 7 points, drawing their first match and
convincingly winning their next two games. Cape Verde on the other hand were
the underdogs of the tournament from the get go having qualified by eliminating
Cameroon in the qualifiers. They began their tournament with two draws and end
the group stages with an impressive win over Angola by coming from a goal
behind to win the game 2-1.
Cape Verde started the quarterfinal well taking the game to
the Ghanaians, they had many shots at goal compared to Ghana but they failed to
hit the target, Ghana started off slow but were growing in stature as the match
progressed. Ghana got a penalty when their player was shoved off a ball in the
18 area. Ghana converted the penalty into a goal but that did not stop the Cape
Verdeans from attacking. In fact when the goal was scored the game became more
exciting. The Cape Verdeans launched attack after attack but it was to no avail
as they failed to score. During a last minute attack by the Cape Verdeans each
and every one of their players went to the Ghanaian goal in an attempt to score
from a corner, including their keeper. They failed to score, the ball was cleared by Ghana and they launched
a counter attack which turned into a goal as they netted into the empty goal of
Cape Verde to make it 2-0.
Mali v South Africa
Mali had a tough group stage, they began with a victory over
Niger, then a loss to Ghana then they drew their final match against the DRC to
secure a second place finish in their group. South Africa started their
tournament under pressure from the home crowd expecting a victory in the first
match against Cape Verde but was held to a boring 0-0 draw. South Africa
improved in their second Match by starting like a house on fire to defeat
Angola 2-0. There once again impressive when they came back twice against the Moroccans
to draw the match 2-2 and secured a place in the next round top of their group.
The South Africans played their best since the tournament
began in the first half during the quarterfinal, constantly attacking the much
favoured Malians. They scored a deserved goal when Thuso Phala crossed the ball
to Rantie who tapped into the back of the net. South Africa began the second
half well but let the Malians get back into the game when an un-marked Keita
scored a stunning header from a cross. The Malians were now improving as the
match approached 90 minutes but the match ended with a 1-1 score so it had to
go into extra time. During extra time both teams tried to score the winning
goal but could not convert the opportunities they created. Extra time was over
and it was now time for penalties. Mali won by converting all 3 penalties
whereas the South Africans only managed to score one, with Furman, Mahlangu and
Majoro not converting. Shabalala was the only South African to convert from the
spot. Mali had for the second year running moved on to the semi finals by
defeating the hosts on penalties.
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