Burkina Faso fight back to hold Cameroon

Minnows Guinea-Bissau keep Gabon at bay on Cup of Nations opening day

AFP, LIBREVILLE: Minnows Guinea-Bissau enjoyed an Africa Cup of Nations debut to remember as they held the host nation Gabon of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a surprise 1-1 draw in Libreville on Saturday.
Juary Soares scored a last-minute equaliser to cancel out the opener from Borussia Dortmund striker Aubameyang at the Stade de l’Amitie in the Group A curtain-raiser.
It is all square in the section after four-time winners Cameroon had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso in the day’s second game.
That means there is still everything to play for but the final whistle was greeted with jeers from the home support in Libreville, providing a stark contrast with the joy of the Guinea-Bissau players.
For them, just being at the tournament for the first time in their history is a remarkable achievement and the result saw thousands take to the streets of the capital Bissau to celebrate.
Guinea-Bissau fell behind seven minutes into the second half when Denis Bouanga’s low ball to the back post was turned in by Aubameyang for the first goal of the competition.
But Gabon then sat back and were punished in the 90th minute as Soares got in front of Bruno Ecuele Manga to head in a Zezinho free-kick.
There have been calls from opponents of Gabon’s President Ali Bongo to boycott the tournament amid a social and political crisis in the central African country of 1.8 million people, and the 40,000-capacity ground was not completely full for the occasion.
Bongo was there, however, alongside his counterpart from Guinea-Bissau, Jose Mario Vaz, and Issa Hayatou, the Cameroonian veteran head of the Confederation of African Football. 
Cameroon’s own tournament build-up had been overshadowed by a raft of withdrawals by key players, including Liverpool defender Joel Matip and Schalke striker Eric Choupo-Moting.
New captain Benjamin Moukandjo gave them the lead against Burkina Faso with a fine free-kick 10 minutes before half-time. 
Christian Bassogog then looked set to double Cameroon’s lead as he raced clean through on goal but Burkina Faso ‘keeper Herve Koffi came flying out of his area and denied him with a crunching challenge.
And Burkina Faso, the beaten finalists in 2013, equalised on 75 minutes, Issoufou Dayo bundling the ball in after Banou Diawara’s free-kick was saved.

 

Burkina Faso fight back to hold Cameroon

Minnows Guinea-Bissau keep Gabon at bay on Cup of Nations opening day

AFP, LIBREVILLE: Minnows Guinea-Bissau enjoyed an Africa Cup of Nations debut to remember as they held the host nation Gabon of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a surprise 1-1 draw in Libreville on Saturday. Juary Soares scored a last-minute equaliser to cancel out the opener from Borussia Dortmund striker Aubameyang at the Stade de lAmitie in the Group A curtain-raiser. It is all square in the section after four-time winners Cameroon had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso in the days second game. That means there is still everything to play for but the final whistle was greeted with jeers from the home support in Libreville, providing a stark contrast with the joy of the Guinea-Bissau players. For them, just being at the tournament for the first time in their history is a remarkable achievement and the result saw thousands take to the streets of the capital Bissau to celebrate. Guinea-Bissau fell behind seven minutes into the second half when Denis Bouangas low ball to the back post was turned in by Aubameyang for the first goal of the competition. But Gabon then sat back and were punished in the 90th minute as Soares got in front of Bruno Ecuele Manga to head in a Zezinho free-kick. There have been calls from opponents of Gabons President Ali Bongo to boycott the tournament amid a social and political crisis in the central African country of 1.8 million people, and the 40,000-capacity ground was not completely full for the occasion. Bongo was there, however, alongside his counterpart from Guinea-Bissau, Jose Mario Vaz, and Issa Hayatou, the Cameroonian veteran head of the Confederation of African Football. Cameroons own tournament build-up had been overshadowed by a raft of withdrawals by key players, including Liverpool defender Joel Matip and Schalke striker Eric Choupo-Moting. New captain Benjamin Moukandjo gave them the lead against Burkina Faso with a fine free-kick 10 minutes before half-time. Christian Bassogog then looked set to double Cameroons lead as he raced clean through on goal but Burkina Faso keeper Herve Koffi came flying out of his area and denied him with a crunching challenge. And Burkina Faso, the beaten finalists in 2013, equalised on 75 minutes, Issoufou Dayo bundling the ball in after Banou Diawaras free-kick was saved.