Group A of the 2015 African Cup of Nations was blown wide open when Congo beat Gabon 1-0 at the Bata Stadium.
A goal from Prince Oniangue three minutes after half time saw Congo to victory and to the top of Group A with four points.
Gabon
have slipped to second place with three points while the goalless draw
between Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso early in the day means the
former are third with two points and the latter last with one point.
In
essence any one of the four teams can still qualify for the knockout
stages when they meet on their group's last matchday on January 25.
Looking
at the game between Gabon and Congo, the Gabonese side only have
themselves to blame as they dominated the possession stakes and had the
more shots on goal.
Football, however, is a cruel game and Gabon were made to pay for their numerous missed opportunities in front of goal.
Gabon
stated their prowess as early as the fourth minute when a 25-yard shot
from Frederic Wagha Bulot was tipped over the bar by the keeper.
On
the 20 minute mark Gabon created a great opening with their slick
passing when Malick Evouna broke behind the defence, but he failed to
beat the keeper in a oneon- one.
Five
minutes before the break Levy Clement Madinda produced some wonderful
skill as he dribbled his way past three Congo defenders only for his
14-yard shot to skim the wrong side of the upright.
The
second half saw Gabon stunned early on after some poor defending at a
corner-kick allowed Prince Oniangue to poke the ball home from a
goalmouth scramble, 1-0.
That
was about the only significant attack Congo mustered in the entire
match, but they made it count, unlike Gabon who continued to waste
chance after chance in front of goal.
In the 58th minute Levy Clement Madinda came close to equalising with a powerful 30-yard shot, but it sailed over the crossbar.
Ten
minutes later Frederic Wagha Bulot missed a sitter from 16-yards out as
he skewed his shot wide with an empty net at his mercy. It was not to
be for Gabon who only have themselves to blame as the game ended 1-0 in
favour of Congo.
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