There are make-or-break ties to look forward to as the second round of matches commence at Afcon 2015. Some teams like Ghana, South Africa and Burkina Faso need to win to avoid early elimination while 5 draws in the opening round means some teams will be desperate for a win. For high profile teams like Cote D’voire there is a point to prove after their inauspicious start. Here are the talking points from the first round of matches.
If you can’t score goals, you can’t win matches.
A good performance is only as good as the goals it is capped with to win a match. South Africa and Burkina were found out the hard way in their 1-3 and 0-2 losses to Algeria and Gabon respectively. On Bafana Bafana could have sewn up their tie against Algeria with a second goal bot Tokello Rantie missed a penalty. As Algeria coach Christian Gourcouff admitted after the game “the penalty was the turning point”. Burkina Faso were heavy favourites to beat Gabon but despite an animated performance from the Traore brothers and second half sub Aristide Bance they ended up firing blanks. 21 shots on goal with 6 on target but no goal left Coach Paul put smarting “If you can’t score goals, you can’t win matches. That’s the rule of this game. It’s a shame, but that’s the way it is”. The 2011 runners need to find their scoring boots to avoid an early flight to Ouagadougou.
Trying to become like Drogba and Eto’o
Gabonese captain and really their only superstar Pirre Emerick Aubameyang is living up to his big reputation after leading the line for the Azingo National to upset Burkina Faso. The Dortmund ace scored the opening goal and initiated the move that led to the second goal netted by Malick Evouna as Gabon put on a show of organization and pace. In a competition that is not always kind to big stars, Aubameyang is proving to be worth his second place finish behind Yaya Toure for the 2014 CAF African Player of the Year award. And the former St. Etiene man has already set his sights on becoming like African greats Didier Drogba and Eto’o “When people expect great things from you, you try to do great things”… He’s got a long way to go hasn’t he?
Plenty shots on target
When Manchester United failed to hit the target against Southampton in the EPL, there was uproar because of the world class, millions of dollars worth of striking talent in their line-up. Well, at Afcon 2015 there may not be many strikers with price tags that read ‘Millions of Dollars’ (Oh there is Wilfred Bony!) but there were many shots on target in every single game of the first round of matches. Burkina-Gabon was the pick of the bunch producing 32 shots with 12 on target. Ghana, Mali and Cameroon had the lowest attempts on goal that found the target. It’s little surprise none of them won their matches. The stakes are higher as the second round starts.
Game of 2 halves
There were five 1-1 draws in the opening round of matches. Does it mean there is very little to choose between most of the teams playing at Afcon 2015? Well practically that can be argued especially for Groups A and maybe C where all the draws came from. However the draws seem to me more a product of the inability of some teams to close out matches when they lead and the amazing fight backs we have seen from some teams early on in this tournament. But then of course there is the issue of stamina as well- Equatorial Guinea coach Esteban Becker who was appointed 11 days before the tournament is convinced his charges lost their lead against Congo because of a lack of stamina in the second half “We didn’t have time to work on the physical side.”We did let it slip at the end, we were meant to win.” He said. In truth a point the Congolese deserved from the game after ferocious second half onslaught on the hosts.
The land of Goal keepers
For over three decades Cameroon has produced arguably the best goal keepers from the continent. Antoine Bell, Thomas Nkono, Jacques Songo from the 80s and 90s to Souleyman Hamidu, Carlos Iddiss Karmeni, Charles Itandje in recent years, the indomitable Lions are always spoilt for choice in that department of the game. This year 19 year old Joseph Fabrice Ondoua takes his bow on Africa’s biggest stage. The Barcelona B goalie was preferred over more experienced compatriots after proving himself in qualifying. He had a shaky outing against Mali and almost gave away a Malian winning goal. But there were also flashes of brilliance that shows the making of yet another Cameroonian great.
The Figures
39- Was the lowest ball possession accumulated by Ghana in their game against Senegal. It was the lowest by any team in the first round of matches.
28 is the number of fouls committed by Tunisia in their round one games against Cape Verde four times as many as Burkina Faso- the cleanest team in the competition so far (BBC)
23- is the number of draws amassed by Tunisia in their Nations Cup history. It puts them 2 more than Nigeria and Morocco both on 21. If any team is likely to draw a match in this Afcon, you know which team it is!
7- is the record number of nations cup appearances made by Claude Leroy. Congo (Brazzaville) is the 5th team the itinerant Frenchman is coaching at the tournament. He has won it only once, with Cameroon in 1988. After such experience he more than anyone has the right to complain about hotel facilities doesn’t he?
7- is the number of shots by Burkina Faso’s Allain Traore without scoring, the most shots in the tournaments so far
6- is the number of nations cup appearances that Zambian goal tender Kennedy Mweene made when he kept goal against Congo DR. Mweene who made his debut at the 2004 tournament now ties the Legendary Kalusha Bwalya for the most Appearances by a Zambian. The all time record is jointly held by Cameroon’s Rigobeth song and Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan (eight each). At just 30, Mweene may be a good bet to match or eclipse that record.
0 per cent: that was Guinea’s record in their five competitive matches against Côte d’Ivoire until a shock 1-1 draw in their CAF Africa Cup of Nations opener on Tuesday. Les Éléphants had scored 13 goals and conceded just one in those matches, while the teams’ only previous meeting in the competition had resulted in a 5-0 thrashing in 2008 (FIFA)
0 Goals by Burkina Faso means the stallions were the only team that failed to score their opening match. All other teams scored at least one goal with 10 of the 14 scoring one each (Opta).
By: Sammy Bartels
email: [email protected]