AFRICA: NEWS, CULTURE, CHINA/AFRICA/WORLD

By Stephen Fottrell
BBC Sport
Gabon players celebrate their dramatic win over Morocco that sends them through to the last eight
Gabon snatched a late winner to progress to the Africa Cup of Nations last eight as they beat Morocco 3-2.
Morocco had led 1-0 for much of the game, through captain Houssine Kharjah’s first-half opener.
But goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Daniel Cousin put the co-hosts ahead, before Kharjah’s penalty looked to have levelled it up.
Bruno Zita Mbanangoye then curled in a free-kick deep into injury time to seal a dramatic win and send Morocco out.
The frenetic atmosphere in Libreville added to a match that swung back and forth, but ultimately saw the Gabonese come out on top in stunning fashion.
The Moroccans had initially threatened to spoil the party mood, and were much improved from their 2-1 defeat by Tunisia, with captain Houssine Kharjah opening the scoring on 24 minutes.
Kharjah collected a pinpoint pass from Belhanda, before swapping to his left leg and burying it coolly to Gabon goalkeeper Didier Ovono’s left.
To lose the 2-1 lead and still fight back and win the game shows an incredible determination from my players
Gabon Coach Gernot Rohr
Morocco protected their lead by getting in some meaty challenges on the Gabonese, who improved as the game went on, but struggled to take advantage of their opponents conceding a string of free-kicks.
Atlas Lions coach Eric Gerets had made four changes to his line-up and they appeared to be telling, but it was the Gabonese changes in the second half that would alter the course of the game dramatically.
Former Hull City and Rangers defender Cousin came on and immediately began hooking up well with the dynamic and pacey Aubameyang.
The co-hosts piled on the pressure and it paid off on 77 minutes.
Cousin nodded on strongly from a throw-in and Aubameyang steadied himself, before lashing in a wonderful left-foot volley to bring the fans down onto the running track in celebration.
And the Libreville crowd were in raptures again almost immediately, as Cousin made it two goals in as many minutes.
Aubameyang this time turned provider, picking out Cousin in the middle of the area, and the substitute swivelled, before scuffing a shot which trickled into the corner past a stranded Nadir Lamyaghri in the Moroccan goal.
Tactically we lost in the last 20 minutes. The team did not seem capable of doing what we had done so many times in the past
Morocco coach Eric Gerets
Gabon thought they had won it with that second, but there was more drama to come as Morocco won a penalty for a handball by Moussono in the box, which Kharjah coolly dispatched low to Ovono’s left, trebling his tally for the tournament.
But there was one more twist in the tail of an incredible climax, as Mehdi Benatia was very lucky not to see red with a reckless challenge on Andre Biyogo Poko at the edge of the area, conceding a free-kick in a dangerous area.
Up stepped another substitute Bruno Zita Mbanangoye, who whipped in a stunning match-winning free-kick from the edge of the box in the 94th minute, to put Gabon through, the crowd into dreamland and send Morocco packing.
The Panthers’ coach Gernot Rohr praised his players for not giving up until the final whistle, while paying tribute the Libreville crowd for their part in the win.
“The turning point came when Pierre-Emerick scored, the crowd gave us new energy to push on,” said Rohr.
“But then to lose the 2-1 lead and still fight back and win the game shows an incredible determination from my players.”
Morocco coach Eric Gerets said his team lost their tactical discipline in the match’s climax, costing them the result.
“Tactically we lost in the last 20 minutes,” he said.
“The team did not seem capable of doing what we had done so many times in the past,” he said.
Gabon join co-hosts Equatorial Guinea in the quarter-finals, after they had knocked Senegal out, also after just two matches, with another dramatic late winner on Wednesday.

Ghana defender John Paintsil celebrated Ghana's laboured victory over Botswana

Ghana defender John Paintsil celebrated Ghana’s laboured victory over Botswana

TEAM NEWS

Two of the biggest names in the tournament go head-to-head in Franceville, after unconvincing wins in their opening games.

Ghana are without captain John Mensah, after the defender was sent off in their tight 1-0 win over Botswana.

The Black Stars are also waiting on the fitness of Asamoah Gyan, after he limped out of training on Thursday.

Mali’s Seydou Keita has called for team unity as the Eagles seek a first quarter-final berth in eight years.

MATCH PREVIEW

Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic will be forced to field a relatively inexperienced centre-back pairing in his team’s second Group D game.

Mensah’s namesake Jonathan Mensah is likely to line up in his place, alongside John Boye - who made his Nations Cup debut against Botswana - tipped to keep his place, as another regular centre-half, Isaac Vorsah, completes a two-match suspension.

“It’s difficult to replace a player like Mensah,” Stevanovic said.

“But I have told the team that I would need all of them for this tournament and so I have 20 players who could replace him against Mali.”

Stvanovic will await further news on Gyan, who limped out of his training with a suspected ankle, but he is expected to recover in time for Saturday’s game.

Meanwhile, Keita - who captained the Eagles to the last four at the 2002 Nations Cup - said Mali are driven to beat the Ghanaians.

“Ghana remain the favourites in our group, but the Black Stars are not unbeatable,” Keita said, who was emotional after a hard-fought 1-0 win over neighbours Guinea on Tuesday.

“The objective is to play to our potentials and get a positive result on Saturday.

“We have not achieved anything yet and in football.

“Things can happen so fast and so our second game against Ghana will be a lot more decisive.”

Keita has also admitted to feeling the pressure himself, as he leads a youthful Mali team at the finals.

“Personally, I have been under a lot of pressure but I will continue to assume my responsibilities,” said Keita, who spent several minutes giving thanks to Allah immediately after Tuesday’s win.

Rescue from Somali pirates is another big success for SEAL team that got Osama bin Laden
By Jeffrey Gettleman, Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker
New York Times
Posted: 01/25/2012 02:56:55 PM PST
Updated: 01/25/2012 10:09:50 PM PST

Poul Hagen Thisted and Jessica Buchanan. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)
KHARTOUM, Sudan — Around 2 a.m. Wednesday, elders in the Somali village of Galkayo said they began hearing an unusual sound: the whirl of helicopters.
It was the culmination of a daring and risky mission by about two dozen members of the Navy SEALS to rescue two hostages — a U.S. aid worker and her Danish colleague — held by Somali pirates since October. The commandos had dropped down in parachutes under a cloak of darkness while 8,000 miles away President Barack Obama was preparing to deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night. The commandos hiked two miles from where they landed, grabbed the hostages and flew them to safety.
For the U.S. military, the mission was characterized by the same ruthless efficiency — and possibly good luck — as the raid on Osama bin Laden in May, which was carried out by commandos from the same elite unit. Nine Somali gunmen were killed; not a single member of the SEALs was injured.
One pirate from the area who seemed to have especially detailed information about the SEAL raid said it involved “an electrical net-trap, flattened into the land,” which presumably was the parachute.
“Then, they started launching missiles,” said the pirate, who spoke by telephone and asked not to be identified.
Pirates operate with total impunity in many parts of lawless Somalia, which has languished without a functioning government for more than 20 years. As naval efforts have intensified on the
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high seas, stymieing hijackings, Somali pirates seem to be increasingly snatching foreigners on land. Just last week, pirates grabbed another U.S. hostage not far from where the SEAL raid took place.
U.S. officials said they were moved to strike in this case because they had received “actionable intelligence” that the health of Jessica Buchanan, the U.S. aid worker, was rapidly deteriorating. The gunmen had just refused $1.5 million to let the two hostages go, Somali elders said, and ransom negotiations had ground to a halt.
Somali pirates have held hostages for months, often in punishing conditions with little food, water or shelter, and past ransoms have topped more than $10 million. One British couple sailing around the world on a little sailboat was kidnapped by pirates from this same patch of central Somalia and held in captivity for more than a year.
Obama, who Pentagon officials said personally approved the rescue plan and raid, had called several high-level meetings on the case, since the two aid workers were kidnapped by gunmen whom Somali elders said were part of a well-established pirate gang.
“As commander in chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people.”
On Oct. 25, Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, the Danish aid worker, were kidnapped by two truckloads of gunmen as they headed to the airport in Galkayo, a central Somalia town on the edge of pirate territory. The two were working for the Danish Refugee Council, one of the few Western organizations still operating in that area. The aid workers had just finished a workshop on land mines before they were kidnapped.
Buchanan, 32, has been working in Africa for about five years and “could hardly talk about Africa without tears in her eyes,” said Don Meyer, the president of Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, Pa., which Buchanan attended.
Somali officials immediately suspected that a local employee of the Danish aid group had tipped off the gunmen, and although U.S. officials argued that the kidnappers were criminals with no direct links to any of the pirate bands that have attacked shipping lanes off Somalia.
According to Pentagon officials, shots rang out within minutes of the SEAL team’s reaching the pirate encampment in Hiimo Gaabo, south of Galkayo. In the ensuing gunbattle, the nine Somali gunmen were killed.
There were differing accounts as to whether the Americans captured any of the gunmen, with local officials saying several had been captured, and the pirate who spoke by telephone saying that “five were taken alive.” But Pentagon officials were adamant that no prisoners were taken.
Shortly after dawn, the nine bodies of the dead gunmen were taken to Hiimo Gaabo.
Several elders said that they were pleased with the rescue operation, and they blamed Somalia’s pirate gangs for sullying Somalia’s reputation and causing inflation by carelessly spending millions of dollars of ransom money.
“The pirates are not taking our advice or orders,” one elder said Wednesday. “They are outlawed, and they are only making our image look bad.”
Somali elders have been trying to mediate in hostage situations and a team had just returned from trying to secure the release of another American, a freelance journalist, who was kidnapped last week in Galkayo.
He remains in captivity in Hobyo, a pirate den on the Somali coast, because the pirates holding him refuse to let him go without a hefty ransom.
At 6:43 p.m. Tuesday, as Obama put the finishing touches on his State of the Union address, he was told that the two hostages had been rescued and were safely in U.S. hands.
As he stepped into the House chamber to deliver his speech, he looked at Defense Secretary Leon Panetta standing in the crowd and said, “Leon, good job tonight, good job.”
At 10:32 p.m., after the speech, Obama called John Buchanan, Jessica’s father, and informed him that his daughter was safe.

BATA, Equatorial Guinea (AP) -Equatorial Guinea scored an injury-time winner to beat Senegal 2-1 in the African Cup of Nations on Wednesday to seal a spot in the quarterfinals.

David Alvarez scored in the 94th minute to secure the victory and eliminate Senegal from the tournament. Iban Iyanga had headed the unfancied co-host ahead in the 62nd minute, before substitute Moussa Sow snatched an 89th-minute equalizer.

Senegal coach Amara Traore dropped captain Mamadou Niang to the bench as he sought improvement from the opening 2-1 loss to Zambia.

But the second straight defeat means Senegal, a pre-tournament favorite, is out.

Sow’s late strike looked to have snatched a draw for Senegal, until Alvarez’ goal prompted Equatorial Guinea’s players to sink to their knees and weep in celebration as fans in the 37,500 Estadio de Bata celebrated.

Earlier, Zambia rallied twice in a 2-2 draw with Libya and needs just a draw to progress also from Group A.

The doubleheader was delayed for more than an hour following a tropical deluge that waterlogged the pitch.

Sow was on the bench for Senegal alongside Niang at the start of the match, with Papiss Cisse and Dame N’Doye in attack with Demba Ba, while Issiar Dia replaced Remi Gomis.

Equatorial Guinea coach Gilson Paulo kept the same team that beat Libya 1-0, with striker Rodolfo Bodipo left out as he continues his recovery from a left ankle injury.

Senegal’s rejigged strike force created the first real opportunity as N’Doye crossed for Cisse to control the ball on his chest and lift a chip that Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Emanuel-Danilo Clementino tipped onto the roof of the net in the 16th minute.

The co-host’s tactics again focused on defending deep and breaking quickly but Senegal fashioned an even better chance soon after.

Dia was released down the right flank in the 22nd and his cutback found Demba Ba virtually on the penalty spot with the goal gaping, but he sidefooted the shot wide.

Clementino was called into action again to dive and block a low drive from distance by Guirane N’Daw on the half hour mark.

Equatorial Guinea was finding problems keeping possession, with lone striker Thierry Fidjeu repeatedly caught offside.

The defense, however, was holding firm and the teams were still scoreless at halftime.

Cisse had a chance just after the restart, but his shot from an angle was gathered by Clementino and Senegal’s misfiring attack was summed up by N’Doye’s header wide when unmarked at a corner in the 51st.

Attacking fluency was not helped by a muddy pitch that was still waterlogged in several places after the earlier downpour.

Nonetheless, Senegal rarely threatened as the second half progressed and Ba was withdrawn in the 58th, again unable to reproduce the form for Newcastle that has brought him 15 goals in the Premier League so far this season.

After absorbing the pressure, Equatorial Guinea hit with a classic counterattack to take the lead.

Alvarez advanced down the right flank and curled a cross that invited Iyanga to head into the net from close range and send the stadium into delirium.

Knowing defeat meant elimination, Traore threw on Niang and Sow, with Niang glancing a header wide from Deme Ndiaye’s cross in the 72nd and forcing a save out of Clementino in the 78th.

Equatorial Guinea looked to be heading for victory until Sow hooked the equalizer after the defense failed to clear a deep free kick in the 89th minute.

But there was still time for more drama. Alvarez collected the ball and unleashed an unstoppable shot past Senegal goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul in the final minute of added time.

Alvarez sprinted away to celebrate, taking his shirt off and screaming with delight, while hundreds of fans invaded the pitch. Riot police marched several away before order could be restored.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/soccer/wires/01/25/2080.ap.soc.equatorial.guinea.senegal.1st.ld.writethru.0658/index.html#ixzz1kXnJ9SlB