Saturday, June 9, 2012

Gabon 1 - Burkina Faso 0; Congo 1 - Niger 0

Group E, a group with no clear cut favorite, saw two 0-0 draws on Matchday One.  Matchday Two brought Burkina Faso to Libreville to face Gabon.  The hosts started off the best, but Burkina Faso had the one true chance of the first half, which they were unable to convert.  This half was to forever be scoreless.

In the second half, Remy Ebanega was the recipient of a flicked on header off a corner kick, allowing him to nod home from the unguarded far post.  The crowd in Libreville went crazy, and Gabon were up 1-0.  Burkina Faso failed to find the equalizer, so the final score read Gabon 1, Burkina Faso 0.

In another match that appeared destined to be goalless, Congo welcomed Niger to Pointe Noire.  Niger's Mohamed Chikoto was sent off for a red card with two minutes left in the first half.  The half was scoreless, but Congo surely would be able to parlay their man advantage into a goal.

It took them nearly the entire game to do so, but Congo eventually used their extra man to their benefit.  The goal fell four minutes from time, and Congo held on to take the full three points.  The 1-0 win means that Congo join Gabon on four points at the top of the group with the teams scheduled to face each other on the next matchday.

Gabon 4 pts +1
Congo 4 pts +1
Niger 1 pts -1
Burkina Faso 1 pts -1

Goals
Gabon
Remy Ebanega 56

Congo
Francis Malonga 86

Match Reports:
http://www.mtnfootball.com/international/fifa-world-cup-2014/matches/reports/2012/june/09-gabon-v-burkina-faso.html

Full Match Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElVNvbZHmEI (1st half of Gabon v. Burkina Faso)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjXMiiegfrw (2nd half of Gabon v. Burkina Faso)

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