AFCON 2015 Semi-Finals: Scores, Bracket Results and Updated Fixtures
Ivory Coast emerged victorious from the first Africa Cup of Nations 2015 semi-final on Wednesday, beating DR Congo in a highly entertaining match to qualify for their third final in the last nine years.
They will now face Ghana, who destroyed home side Equatorial Guinea by 3-0. The second semi-final was marred by hooliganism, as bottles were thrown from the stand, forcing the match to be temporarily suspended for 30 minutes.
Here are the full results for the semi-finals of AFCON 2015:
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| Wednesday, Feb. 4 | Ivory Coast | 3-1 | DR Congo |
| Thursday, Feb. 5 | Equatorial Guinea | 0-3 | Ghana |
Ivory Coast 3-1 DR Congo
Ivory Coast's big stars made the difference in their 3-1 win over a surprisingly resilient DR Congo squad, giving fans value for their money on Wednesday.
Yaya Toure opened the scoring with a screamer after just 20 minutes, blasting a shot past goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba. KingFut.com shared the Vine:
The Elephants' lead was short-lived, however, with star striker Dieumerci Mbokani equalising for DR Congo from the penalty spot after a perceived handball.
AS Roma's Gervinho nearly reclaimed the lead for Ivory Coast after 38 minutes, just missing the target after the ball clipped the bottom of the crossbar, but he redeemed himself with an excellent strike minutes later, taking advantage of some horrid defending.
101 Great Goals shared the goal:
Serge Aurier will undoubtedly make international headlines for returning to the pitch a full two minutes after the second half had already started, and the Paris Saint-Germain full-back hardly showed any urgency, casually strolling onto the pitch.
DR Congo tried to push for an equaliser, with Yannick Bolasie and Mbokani going close on two occasions, but Ivory Coast remained the better team, and Wilfried Kanon deservedly gave the Elephants a two-goal cushion with under 15 minutes left to play.
Ivory Coast easily dealt with some late pressure from DR Congo, winning 3-1 and booking their third finals appearance in the past nine years, per BBC's John Bennett:
Florent Ibenge's team couldn't qualify for the AFCON final, but DR Congo can still feel excellent about their performance here in Equatorial Guinea. The manager spoke to Goal.com's Brian Oliver about the difficulties African coaches face:
"We are not confident of our own and so they [national federations] prefer to give that confidence to the foreign coaches, even when some of us have the same qualifications and qualities as these other coaches.
"
The golden generation of Ivorian football has underperformed tremendously in the past decade in just about every major international tournament, but after a bad start to this year's AFCON, the Elephants appear to be hitting their stride at just the right time.
DR Congo entered the tournament as "lucky losers" but surprised many with a series of solid displays, and powered by the proficient Mbokani, the ease with which Ivory Coast beat the team is impressive.
Ghana won't make things easy on the Elephants in the final, but given their incredible talent and current form, Ivory Coast have to be considered favourites for the title.
Equatorial Guinea 0-3 Ghana
Hooliganism marred the second semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations as Ghana dumped hosts Equatorial Guinea out of the competition.
The ill-tempered match ended in a 3-0 win for Ghana, with the hosts spending most of their game with an overtly aggressive outlook to proceedings, sparking crowd trouble.
The game was halted for 30 minutes as police and officials attempted to regain order after it appeared Ghana fans had been attacked by home supporters, per BBC Sport. The tie was eventually completed as Ghana qualified for the final against the Ivory Coast.
The eventual winners on Thursday night dominated proceedings from the off, with the lowly ranked Equatoguineans struggling against their superior opponents. But the Black Stars had to wait until late in the first half after a penalty gave them the lead.
Crystal Palace striker Kwesi Appiah suffered a late challenge from goalkeeper Felipe Ovono, leaving the referee little choice but to award a spot-kick on 42 minutes. Jordan Ayew stepped up to take the spot-kick and made no mistake, calmly slotting the ball away to claim his side's deserved lead.
And Ghana furthered their advantage just three minutes later with a well-taken goal from Celtic player Wakaso Mubarak.
The player cut inside on his left foot as the ball was played across the area, and Wakaso made no doubt of the eventual outcome. Soccer Gods captured the special moment on social media:
The second half delivered much of the same as the home team failed to make a true impact. The atmosphere in the stadium began to deteriorate fast as it became clear Equatorial Guinea were exiting the competition.
Football writer Jonathan Wilson called the action and highlighted the serious nature of the events unfolding:
And the game was finally ended as a contest as Ayew claimed his second of the night in the 75th minute.
Appiah quickly found his team-mate as the ball broke to him in the area, and Ayew only had to tap the ball in to take his team through to the final.
Soccer Gods once again filmed the key moment on Vine:
At 3-0, the night began to truly collapse with the game being halted by the referee in the 84th minute.
A vast number of missiles were thrown from the stands, making the game impossible to continue until law and order was maintained once again.
Wilson, Guardian journalist Nick Ames and ITV Football commented in horror as police moved in, with the scenes turning uglier:
Eventually, the tie was able to commence with the referee calling time on the game as soon as possible.
The shocking scenes are sure to mar the competition and raise questions about the organisation of the African game.
Ghana deservedly won the encounter on the night. They will have to wipe the unsavoury events of Thursday from their minds as they prepare for the marquee game of the tournament.
Ivory Coast are certainly the favourites, with their impressive squad featuring world stars, but Ghana have proved they will be a dangerous opponent.
