Rabat – Cote d’Ivoire has shocked the world of football and fans of the intimating Senegalese team by clinching a nerve-wracking victory that has sent them to the quarter-finals of their home AFCON at the expense of the tournament’s defending champions.
While Senegal managed to gain an early lead thanks to a goal from Habib Diallo in the 4th minute, Cote d’Ivoire surprisingly proved more enterprising and ended up deservedly equalizing in the dying minutes of the second half.
As the Ivorians chased an equalizer in the first half, Senegal sought to maintain their lead and proceed through long passes behind the Ivorian defensive line. While this tactic of cooling down the offensive momentum of Ivory Coast seemed to bear fruit, Senegal’s Teranga Lions failed to put themselves out of the constant danger of an equalizer.
The 61st minute saw a missed opportunity for Senegal as Kalidou Koulibaly’s header went wide to the right side of the goal. Lamine Camara’s cross from a corner kick provided the opportunity, but Senegal was unable to capitalize on the chance to extend their lead.
And as the Ivorian Elephants took the game to the Teranga Lions, Senegal now appeared to be content with securing its 1-0 victory while only seeking to take advantage of defensive errors that could lead to additional scoring opportunities.
Yet the now increasingly buoyant and confident Elephants eventually turned the tide in the 86th minute when Franck Kessie capitalized on a late penalty to bring the match to a 1-1 draw.
The last-minute equalizer stunned Senegalese fans and observers who had expected tonight’s game to be a walk in the park for the defending African champions.
Meanwhile, the home crowd started believing as their team grew more into the game by dictating the tempo of the match and proving more dangerous in the penalty area.
Frustratingly, however, the two halves of the 30-minute extension eventually failed to deliver on the promises of a vibrant second of normal time, leading to the nerve-racking scenes of penalty kickouts.
With luck and the thunderous celebrations of a born-again home crowd on the sides of the Elephants, it is, in the end, the defending AFCON Champions who joined tonight the rather long list of favorites that have crushed out of this AFCON of surprises.
And while this is an embarrassing and hardly believable early exit for Senegal’s Teranga Lions, it is a hard-fought triumph for a bitterly ridiculed Ivorian side looking to reinvent themselves in front of their home fans.
