–CIV Vs Gabon end in stalemate
By Izuchukwu Okosi:
A raft of games played on Sunday in Matchday 3 of the 2017 AFCON qualifiers and Completesportsnigeria.com serves you a roundup of the games that went down across the continent.
Ghana 7-1 Mauritius
The Black Stars of Ghana defeated Mauritius 7-1 in their opening game of the 2017 AFCON qualifiers.
Christian Atsu scored the opener in the 10th minute while captain Asamoah Gyan (30th) and Jordon Ayew (35th) helped themselves to a brace each while Leicester City’s Jeffrey Schlupp and David Accam scored a goal each to complete the rout in the 67th and 89th minute respectively.
Sophie Andy scored Mauritius’ consolation goal.
Togo 2-1 Liberia
Emmanuel Adebayor who has been embroiled in a family row scored in the 88th minute for Togo at the Stade de Kegue to help the Hawks romp to a 2-1 win over Liberia in a Group A qualifying game.
William Jebor had put Liberia ahead in the 42nd minute but in the 63rd minute, Sadate Ouro-Akomoko equalised for his country.
The crowd had almost given up of another goal coming from either side until Adebayor scored with two minutes left on the clock to lift his team to second place behind Tunisia who had destroyed Djibouti 8-1 on Saturday.
DR Congo 2-1 Madagascar
DR Congo made home advantage count as they defeated Madagascar 2-1 via strikes from Firmin Mubele Ndombe and Joel Kimuaki Mpela in their Group B encounter.
Equatorial Guinea 1-1 Benin Rep.
Equatorial Guinea held Benin to a 1-1 draw in Bata, one of the host cities of the 2015 AFCON tournament.
West Brom’s Stephane Sessegnon scored Benin’s goal at the stroke of half time but Emilio Nsue ensured parity in the 48th minute. Nsue however saw a 74th minute goal ruled out for offside.
Benin and Equatorial Guinea are behind Mali on the Group C table after the Malians defeated South Sudan 2-0 on Saturday to go top of the log.
Congo 1-1 Kenya
Congo shared the spoils with Kenya following a 1-1 stalemate at Stade Alphonse Massamba-Débat.
Paul Were drew first blood 10 minutes in but Prince Oniangue hit back from the spot for the Congolese before the break.
Niger 1-0 Namibia
Niger ousted Namibia 1-0 in Group K, with Soulemane Sacko slotting home a 39th minute penalty at Stade Général S.K.
Mozambique 0-1 Rwanda
Rwanda earned a valuable away win with a 1-0 defeat of Mozambique in a Group H game.
Ernest Sugira’s third minute goal proved decisive to hand new coach Johnny McKinstry a victory in his first competitive fixture since being appointed in March.
Ethiopia 2-1 Lesotho
Ethiopia beat Lesotho 2-1 at a packed Bahir Dar Stadium in a Group J clash.
Saladin Said and Gatoch Panom got the goals for the hosts who conceded first in the 41st minute.
Cameroun 1-0 Mauritania
A goal in the dying seconds from Vincent Aboubacar handed Cameroun a narrow 1-0 win over Mauritania at the Stade Omnisport Ahmadou Ahidjo in their 2017 Group M Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.
The win in Yaounde sees the Indomitable Lions go top of their qualifying group ahead of South Africa and Gambia who played to a goalless draw on Saturday.
Gabon 0-0 Côte d’Ivoire
African champions Côte d’Ivoire and Gabon played out a goalless draw in Libreville on Sunday evening, in their Group I opener of the 2017 AFCON qualifiers.
The match was relocated to the Gabonese capital as Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny is undergoing renovations.
In the absence of several key players, including defenders Eric Bailly and Serge Aurier, defensive midfielders Cheick Tioté and Geoffroy Serey Dié, skipper Yaya Touré and winger Gervinho, Côte d’Ivoire caretaker coach Ibrahima Kamara opted for an unusual, yet experienced line-up.
Stabaeck keeper Sayouba Mandé was handed his fourth international start between the posts, with Jean Daniel Akpa Akpro, Simon Deli, Diarrassouba Ousmane Viera and new skipper Siaka Tiené on duty at the back.
Cheick Doukouré was put in charge of the hard work in the midfield with Saint-Etienne pair of Ismaël Diomandé and Max Gradel, while the Elephants’ attacking force was made of Salomon Kalou, Wilfried Bony and Gohi Bi Cyriac.
The first half ended 0-0 between the 2015 African champions and the 2017 AFCON hosts, in a game where only pride was up for grabs as the outcome does not count for the group standings (Gabon qualify automatically for the tournament’s finals).
Egypt 3-0 Tanzania
Three goals in ten minutes handed Egypt a convincing 3-0 win over Tanzania in their 2017 Group G Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match at the Borg El Arab Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The win sees Egypt go top of their qualifying group on goal difference after Nigeria beat Chad 2-0 on Saturday.
Egypt controlled matters from the onset, but struggled to break down the Tanzanian defence.
The Pharaohs did find the back of net twice through Ahmed Hegazi in the fourth minute and Rami Rabia in 26th minute, but both goals were disallowed, one for off-sides and the other for a foul on the keeper in the build-up.
Still, Egypt persisted but were unable to break the deadlock before the halftime whistle.
The second half saw the Pharaohs continue to dictate matters and they finally made their pressure tell on the hour mark when Rabia found the back of the net with a clinical finish, 1-0.
Four minutes later Basem Morsi doubled the home side’s lead after concluded a good passing movement with a neat finish, 2-0.
The match was over as a contest in the 70th minute when Mohamed Salah scored Egypt’s third goal, 3-0.
Tanzania tried to find some respect and pushed hard for a consolation goal, but Egypt kept it tight at the back to pick up a comprehensive
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