Day 2 AFCON 2013 SA Quarterfinals – Burkina Faso v Togo Results

The Togo team during their quarterfinal v Burkina Faso
source: Tadegnon

After the great match of Nigeria v Ivory Coast with Nigeria going through to the Semi-finals, Togo v Burkina Faso followed at Mbombela Staduim. Mbombela Staduim being the worst pitch in this tournament, I had read an article saying they had manually removed some of the sand from the pitch but that did not seem to help as it was still horrible during the quarterfinal match.

Burkina Faso v Togo

Burkina Faso had played really well during their group matches, drawing twice and trashing the Ethiopians 4-0. Togo on the other hand had lost a one, won one and managed a draw in their final match to qualify for the first time to the quarterfinals of the AFCON.

The match between Togo and Burkina Faso was fast paced with Burkina Faso attacking from early in the match; they had a few opportunities to score but fumbled in front of goal. The Togolese also had a few wasted chances during the first half which they failed to convert. In the second half Burkina Faso launched attack after attack again to no avail. The Togolese attacked whenever they could too but again they failed to score. The match went to extra time, this time the Burkina Faso team was going on a full on attack at times with their whole team with the exception of the keeper on the Togolese side of the field. Burkina Faso was rewarded when Jonathon Pitroipa headed in a beautiful gaol in the 105^th minute of play before the extra time half time whistle was blown. Burkina Faso kept possession of the ball during the second half of extra time to secure a victory and reach the semi finals for only the second time since 1998 AFCON.

Read more »

Day 2 AFCON 2013 Quarterfinals – Nigeria v Ivory Coast results

Nigerian fans celebrating Nigeria beating Ivory Coast 2-1.
Source: Twitter

Day two of the AFCON 2013 South Africa promised to be an entertaining day, because African giants Nigeria and Ivory Coast the favourites to take the cup were going to go head to head. This was for many people the final before the final, unfortunate for one of the teams as there had to be a winner and a loser.

Ivory Coast v Nigeria

Nigeria had a bad start to the tournament with many people believing that this was not their best squared considering the amount of football talent in Nigeria. They only just managed to get into the quarterfinals by winning their last game against Ethiopia by 2 goals to nil from the penalty spot.

Ivory Coast on the other hand had dominated their group, by clinching 2 wins before they had to sweat to come back from a 2-0 deficit against Algeria who brought the game to the Ivoirians only to draw the match 2-2.

Coming into the match the Ivoirians were the favourites, with many thinking this Nigerian squad was going to book their flights back to Nigeria after their match, but it was not to be so. Nigeria the super eagles finally showed up to the AFCON 2012. They had their best showing of the tournament so far, they attacked the Ivoirians from the get go, so it was not surprise when they scored first(Emenike) even though I felt the Ivoirian goal keeper should have block that ball since it was in his direction. In the second half the Ivoirians finally showed up to the match in an effort to fight back, they were rewarded for their efforts when they scored from a beautiful header (Tiote). This was not to be their day as later in the second half the Nigerians scored a beautiful and powerful shot into the top corner (Sunday Mba) of the Ivoirian net.

Ivory Coast the favourites are out, in the quarterfinals of the AFCON 2013, they join the hosts South Africa and Cape Verde in the teams eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Read more »

AFCON 2013 South Africa Day 1 of the Quarterfinals results

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. 

Read more »