Africa Cup of Nations: Winners and Losers from Day 3
Day 3 of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations saw the commencement of hostilities in Group C.
The third pool has been christened the Group of Death due to the presence of some of the continental heavyweights.
Ghana and Algeria featured at the 2014 World Cup, with the latter advancing to the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, Senegal boast a plethora of star names, and South Africa are enjoying a renaissance under new coach Shakes Mashaba.
In such a tight group, there can be little (if any) room for error, and each of these four knew that a defeat in its opening game could spell disaster.
Here are the winners and losers from Day 3 at the Cup of Nations.
Losers: South Africa
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Bafana Bafana had an unlikely victory in their grasp. Despite losing young centre-back Rivaldo Coetzee to injury in the first half, South Africa weren’t cowed by their talented opponents and sought to attack rapidly and cohesively.
Dean Furman went closer with a long-range strike, while Andile Jali was a terrific presence in the heart of the midfield.
South Africa even took the lead through Thuso Phala and could have had a second moments later when Aissa Mandi brought down Sibusiso Vilakazi.
The right-back evaded a red card, but Bafana Bafana were awarded a penalty. A goal here would surely have killed off any potential Algeria revival.
However, a nervous Tokelo Rantie hammered the spot-kick against the bar.
South Africa gradually retreated into the shell, and as Algeria, having whiffed their mortality, grew in confidence, Bafana folded.
There are positives to be taken from this contest certainly, but Shakes Mashaba’s side cannot afford any further slip-ups. They will have been rocked by this encounter, their first defeat under their new coach.
Winners: Algeria
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For the first hour against South Africa, Algeria looked far from their imperious self. There were a few passages of coherent passing and spurts of acceleration, but in general they struggled to find their rhythm.
Indeed, I would argue that for long portions of this contest they were outshone by South Africa and could feasibly have lost this one had Rantie not missed a second-half penalty.
The Bournemouth man’s failure to convert gave the Desert Foxes a way back into the match and spurred them on to up the ante of the contest.
They equalised fortuitously, as Thulani Hlatshwayo headed past his own keeper before a powerful Faouzi Ghoulam effort gave the North Africans the lead.
Islam Slimani confirmed the three points with an 83rd-minute strike which wriggled under the body of Bafana goalkeeper Darren Keet.
Algeria are well and truly warmed up, and after sidestepping this banana skin, they will fancy their chances of going deep into this tournament.
Losers: Ghana
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Avram Grant’s first competitive match in charge of the Black Stars was always going to be a testing occasion.
It was made harder by the absence of Asamoah Gyan, who came down with a mild bout of malaria, while Senegal were never going to be easy opponents.
During the early stages of the contest, Grant appeared to be the man with the Midas touch, as the Black Stars appeared to take quickly to his experimental formation.
They took the lead through Andre Ayew after some extended pressure and could have put the result beyond doubt.
Having lost to Senegal, the Black Stars now know that defeat against Algeria would almost certainly dump them out of the competition.
Winners: Senegal
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Senegal struggled to get a handle on their Group C battle with Ghana early on and were fortunate not to have shipped three or four goals during the first half.
Ultimately, they went into the break only one goal down following Ayew’s early penalty.
During half-time, Alain Giresse was bold and tweaked his side’s approach.
He replaced Papy Djilobodji, who had been tormented by Christian Atsu, and brought on Lamine Gassama.
The switch prompted a change in formation, with the Lions of Teranga dropping their back three and moving to 4-4-2.
Giresse’s courage paid dividends, and Senegal secured the three points with goals from Mame Biram Diouf and Moussa Sow.
The West Africans will all but guarantee their spot in the quarter-finals with victory over South Africa in their next match.
Loser: Nathan Sinkala
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Sunday, I noted how some of Zambia’s frailties were evident in their Cup of Nations opener against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Any concerns they might have had have been compounded by the news that skipper Nathan Sinkala has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament.
The defensive midfielder received a knock to his knee late on in the contest and had to be removed from the pitch in visible discomfort.
As reported by Kick Off, the Football Association of Zambia has revealed that the former Sochaux man has damaged knee ligaments and faces a minimum of four weeks on the shelf…prematurely ending his tournament.
Without him, Chipolopolo look at best an outside bet to escape from Group B.
