Afcon Roundup: Sierra Leone Snatch famous draw over Ivory Coast, Guinea Upset Algeria
Sierra Leone stunned Ivory Coast, while Algeria suffered a similar sting against Equatorial Guinea.
Ivory Coast 2-2 Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone’s famous draw with Ivory Coast was secured by a surreal, last-gasp Alhaji Kamara goal. Ivory Coast, meanwhile, missed a penalty in the first half.
The Elephants entered the game as favorites and took the lead in the 25th minute through Champions League top scorer Sebastien Haller. They should have taken the lead even sooner, but Franck Kessie’s 12-yard penalty was saved by Mohamed Kamara.
Ivory Coast was forced to lament that lost opportunity just after halftime when Musa Kamara scored his first goal of the game, blasting home with his left foot. Nicolas Pepe restored parity with a goal assisted by the excellent Ibrahim Sangare before the game came to a thrilling finale.
In second-half stoppage time, Ivorian goalkeeper Badra Sangara lost his footing and performed an unintentional backflip, allowing the ball to fall to Steven Caulker. He squared calmly to Kamara, who tucked home, causing panic among the millions of Sierra Leoneans watching at home.
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Algeria 0-1 Equatorial Guinea
The second Group E game produced an even bigger upset when pre-tournament favorites Algeria were defeated 1-0 by Equatorial Guinea.
Six yellow cards were issued in the first half, but no goals were scored, despite the Fennec Foxes’ abundance of attacking talent.
Obiang Obono Esteban, who made no mistake from close range, finally broke the deadlock 20 minutes from time.
Algeria’s 35-game unbeaten streak came to an end with the defeat, leaving them with just one point after two games. They now need a win over Ivory Coast in their last group match to qualify for the knockout stages.
