Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put aside the trauma of his last Africa Cup of Nations finals appearance with the first goal in a 2-0 win over Burkina Faso in their Group A opener in Bata.
The French-born striker, who missed the decisive penalty in a quarter-final shootout against Mali three years ago when Gabon co-hosted the tournament, opened the scoring in the 19th minute. It was a classic poacher’s goal as he found his way blocked but steadied himself at the second attempt before blasting home at the Estadio de Bata.
Evouna killed off the game as a contest in the 72nd minute to give Gabon a solid start to the 16 team tournament.
Meanwhile, Congo snatched a late 1-1 draw against the hosts, Equatorial Guinea, in the opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations, muting a packed stadium of home fans in Bata who thought they were on their way to a surprise win.
The French-born striker, who missed the decisive penalty in a quarter-final shootout against Mali three years ago when Gabon co-hosted the tournament, opened the scoring in the 19th minute. It was a classic poacher’s goal as he found his way blocked but steadied himself at the second attempt before blasting home at the Estadio de Bata.
Evouna killed off the game as a contest in the 72nd minute to give Gabon a solid start to the 16 team tournament.
Meanwhile, Congo snatched a late 1-1 draw against the hosts, Equatorial Guinea, in the opening game of the Africa Cup of Nations, muting a packed stadium of home fans in Bata who thought they were on their way to a surprise win.
Equatorial Guinea’s captain, Emilio Nsue, scored in the 16th minute to kick off the celebrations at Estadio de Bata after the crowd, adorned in the home team’s red shirts, had already been treated to a performance by the American singer Akon during the opening ceremony. But Thievy Bifouma equalised with three minutes to go, sliding a low shot in from a tough angle to spoil the hosts’ opening night.
By: Farai Diza
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