Africa Cup of Nations 2015: Day 5 AFCON Scores, Results, Standings and Schedule
The second round of matches at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations got under way on Wednesday with Group A back in action again after only Burkina Faso failed to register a point on opening day.
The Stallions took on hosts Equatorial Guinea and should have taken the win, but carelessness in front of goal meant the game finished in a scoreless draw.
Gabon took on Congo in Day 5's second match, the Panthers unable to build on their impressive 2-0 win in their opener against Burkina Faso as they were downed 1-0.
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Here is the updated schedule for AFCON 2015 and the current group standings:
| Date | Time (GMT/ET) | Stage | Fixture |
| Jan. 17 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group A | Equatorial Guinea 1-1 Congo |
| Jan. 17 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group A | Burkina Faso 0-2 Gabon |
| Jan. 18 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group B | Zambia 1-1 Congo DR |
| Jan. 18 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group B | Tunisia 1-1 Cape Verde Islands |
| Jan. 19 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group C | Ghana 1-2 Senegal |
| Jan. 19 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group C | Algeria 3-1 South Africa |
| Jan. 20 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group D | Ivory Coast 1-1 Guinea |
| Jan. 20 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group D | Mali 1-1 Cameroon |
| Jan. 21 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group A | Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Burkina Faso |
| Jan. 21 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group A | Gabon 0-1 Congo |
| Jan. 22 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group B | Zambia v Tunisia |
| Jan. 22 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group B | Cape Verde Islands v Congo DR |
| Jan. 23 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group C | Ghana v Algeria |
| Jan. 23 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group C | South Africa v Senegal |
| Jan. 24 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Group D | Ivory Coast v Mali |
| Jan. 24 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Group D | Cameroon v Guinea |
| Jan. 25 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group A | Congo v Burkina Faso |
| Jan. 25 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group A | Gabon v Equatorial Guinea |
| Jan. 26 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group B | Cape Verde Islands v Zambia |
| Jan. 26 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group B | Congo DR v Tunisia |
| Jan. 27 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group C | Senegal v Algeria |
| Jan. 27 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group C | South Africa v Ghana |
| Jan. 28 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group D | Cameroon v Ivory Coast |
| Jan. 28 | 6 p.m./1 p.m. | Group D | Guinea v Mali |
| Jan. 31 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Quarter-Final 1 | Group A Winner v Group B Second Place |
| Jan. 31 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Quarter-Final 2 | Group B Winner v Group A Second Place |
| Feb. 1 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Quarter-Final 3 | Group C Winner v Group D Second Place |
| Feb. 1 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Quarter-Final 4 | Group D Winner v Group C Second Place |
| Feb. 4 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Semi-Final 1 | Quarter-Final 1 Winner v Quarter-Final 4 Winner |
| Feb. 5 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Semi-Final 2 | Quarter-Final 2 Winner v Quarter-Final 3 Winner |
| Feb. 7 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Third-place | Semi-Final 1 Loser v Semi-Final 2 Loser |
| Feb. 8 | 7 p.m./2 p.m. | Final | Semi-Final 1 Winner v Semi-Final 2 Winner |
| 1 | Congo | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Gabon | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Equatorial Guinea | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Burkina Faso | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| 1 | DR Congo | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Zambia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Cape Verde | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Tunisia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Algeria | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 | Senegal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Ghana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 0 |
| 4 | South Africa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 0 |
| 1 | Guinea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | Ivory Coast | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Cameroon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | Mali | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Gabon 0-1 Congo
Prince Oniangue's second-half strike was enough to hand Congo their first victory of AFCON 2015 on Wednesday as they claimed a 1-0 victory over Gabon and put themselves in with a great chance of qualifying for the latter stages.
Gabon spurned several opportunities throughout the encounter and were guilty of poor defending for the only goal of the match, but Congo deserve great credit for grinding out a valuable win.
The Red Devils are thus far unbeaten in Group A, having drawn 1-1 with hosts Equatorial Guinea in their first encounter.
There were chances for both sides in the opening exchanges of the first half as Gabon and Congo both had well-positioned free kicks, but neither team could capitalise.
The first genuine chance of the match fell to Frederic Bulot, whose fearsome volley was well kept out by Congo keeper Christoffer Mafoumbi in the fourth minute.
Just before the 20-minute mark, Gabon’s Malick Evouna was put through by Levy Madinda, and the forward beat the goalkeeper but saw his effort slip agonisingly wide of the post.
Jorge Costa’s men went close again just before the break, but still they could not find the back of the net as Madinda fired wide after beating the defence well.
Despite Gabon’s superior chances in the opening half, it was Congo who opened the scoring just after the break when a poorly cleared corner dropped to Oniangue, the skipper firing home from seven yards, per African football commentator Kelechi Nkoro:
Congo seemed to take heart from taking the lead, improving as the half went on as they looked to put the match out of sight.
They were given a big let off when Gabon should have equalised in the 68th minute, Frederic Bulot steering wide of an open net after the ball rebounded to him from an Evouna effort, to the astonishment of SandalsForGoalposts:
The Panthers had the better of the remaining chances in the match, but they could not find the back of the net and were condemned to a 1-0 defeat come the final whistle.
Gabon could have made it through to the knockout rounds with a victory over Congo but will now have to wait for their final group encounter against Equatorial Guinea to ensure safe passage.
Equatorial Guinea 0-0 Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso failed to find the scoresheet again on Wednesday as they played out a 0-0 draw with Equatorial Guinea, but 2013's runners-up really should have claimed all three points.
They carved out endless chances but failed to put the ball in the back of the net and will rue the fact that they could only claim a draw against the largely uninspiring hosts.
It was a scrappy opening to the match but Burkina Faso settled the quicker and carved out a couple of chances but could not find their first goal of the tournament in the early exchanges.
While the hosts played themselves into the half slowly, Paul Put's side had by far the better chances with Alain Traore striking the woodwork twice, first from a free kick and then when his well hit left-footed volley was tipped onto the post by Ovono.
Bertrand Traore also almost found the opener in the latter stages of the opening half, turning his marker well and forcing another fine save from Ovono with a strike from the left of the box.
As football writer Colin Udoh notes, Burkina Faso really should have put themselves at least one to the good before the break:
Equatorial Guinea made an improved start to the second period, controlling more of the ball with Kike spurning an early chance after good work from Salvador Edu.
Burkina Faso wasted another golden chance nine minutes into the second half as the returning Aristide Bance set up a tap-in for Jonathan Pitroipa, but the winger could not send it home.
More poor finishing cost the hosts minutes later as Javier Balboa played in Doualla on the right but he could only blaze it over the bar.
An inability to find the target was a recurring feature of the match from both sides, per ByTheMinAfrica, and the game, somewhat unsurprisingly, finished goalless:
Burkina Faso, finalists in 2013, have still yet to find a goal in the tournament and need a victory in their final match against Congo to have any chance of making the knockout stages.
