Goalkeeper Boubacar Barry was the hero as he
sealed the Africa Cup of Nations for the Ivory
Coast in a dramatic penalty shootout with Ghana .
Ivory Coast goalkeeper Boubacar Barry was the
hero for his side as they defeated Ghana 9-8 in a
dramatic penalty shootout following a goalless 120
minutes in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Barry – who appeared to be struck down by cramp
on two occasions during the shootout – was only
selected because Sylvain Gbohouo picked up an
injury in the Ivory Coast's semi-final.
He saved the spot-kick of opposite number Brimah
Razak, before stepping up himself to convert the
winning kick as the Ivory Coast lifted the trophy for
the second time.
The Ivory Coast's only previous triumph in this
tournament also came against the Black Stars,
courtesy of an epic 11-10 shootout success in
Senegal in 1992, and history was to repeat itself at
the Estadio de Bata on Sunday.
It was also a repeat success for their
coach Herve Renard, who lifted the trophy in
2012 when his Zambia side defeated his current
employers, also on penalties.
All three of the Ivory Coast's previous final
appearances had ended goalless, and it was the
same story in Bata as the two sides could not
separated after two hours of scoreless action.
For Ghana coach Avram Grant, it was yet more
penalty heartache after his Chelsea side lost out to
Manchester United in the 2008 UEFA Champions
League final.
Ghana looked the more likely to find a winner
throughout normal time, both Christian Atsu and
Andre Ayew striking the woodwork, but otherwise
goalmouth action was scarce.
Both sides were fortunate to finish the game with
11 men on the field. Serey Die was booked for a
dangerous studs-up challenge on Wakaso Mubarak
– which could have resulted in a red – before the
Stuttgart midfielder escaped unpunished for a
subsequent cynical foul on Atsu.
Returning Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan trod on
the foot of Eric Bailly off the ball in the first half in
an incident that went unseen, before his team-mate
John Boye was lucky to get away with a headbutt
on the same opponent after the interval.
Both sides made one change following their semi-
final victories as Barry replaced Gbohouo, while
Ghana welcomed back Gyan in place of Jordan
Ayew.
The first effort of note saw Yaya Toure bring a
simple save out of Razak with a free-kick in the
14th minute, before Die was perhaps fortunate to
receive only a yellow card for a high boot which
caught Mubarak in a sensitive area.
Max Gradel fired off target from a difficult angle in
the 16th minute, and Gyan was lucky that referee
Bakary Gassama did not spot an off-the-ball
stamp on Bailly.
Atsu went agonisingly close to an opener when his
thumping drive got the better of Barry but
rebounded off the right-hand upright and away to
safety 25 minutes in.
Die, having already been cautioned for his earlier
transgression, was extremely lucky not to be shown
a second yellow card when he scythed down Atsu a
minute later.
Ghana hit the woodwork again nine minutes prior
to the interval, as Andre Ayew sliced his attempted
cut-back off the left-hand post.
There was little let-up in the feisty nature of the
encounter after the break when Boye appeared to
headbutt Bailly after the pair grappled while waiting
for a free-kick, but once again there was no action
from Gassama.
Boye headed wide of the target midway through the
second half as Ghana continued to look the most
likely to make a breakthrough.
In the final minute of normal time, Serge Aurier
broke free down the right and saw his dangerous
cross parried by Razak, but Jonathan Mensah was
on hand to hack the ball away before substitute
Seydou Doumbia could provide the finish.
After extra-time proved uneventful, Ghana looked in
control of the shootout when Wilfried Bony and
Junior Tallo missed the first two kicks for the Ivory
Coast.
However, Afriyie Acquah and Frank
Acheampong also erred for Ghana, and as the
shootout reached its 11th round, Barry saved from
Razak.
The Ivory Coast stopper, who had gone down with
cramp earlier during the kicks, fell to the ground
again but, after receiving treatment, managed to
pick himself up and successfully convert the
winning penalty to spark scenes of jubilation
among his team-mates.
0 comments:
Post a Comment