Ivory Coast defeated Angola 2-0 in Malabo on Monday night to finish on top of Group B thanks to a first half strike from Emmanuel Eboue and a second half goal from Wilfried Bony.
The Angolans failed to respond and saw themselves crashing out of the tournament after finishing on equal points with Sudan, but with an inferior goal difference.
The Elephants got the first shot on target in the sixth minute when Max Gradel turned away from his marker, but his low shot was collected comfortably by Angolan goalkeeper Wilson at the near post.
Nine minutes later Wilfried Bony created a chance out of nothing when he ran through the middle before firing a low shot which drew a brilliant one handed save from Wilson as he pushed it around the post.
It was all Ivory Coast as far as taking shots was concerned and in the 22nd minute they were awarded a free kick just outside the box when Emmanuel Eboue was tripped by Andre Macanga; the ball was nudged into Kolo Toure’s path but his low drive went wide off the target.
The opening goal arrived in the 33rd minute when Bony beat two defenders for pace on his way into the box before playing a low cross from the left side; Angolan defender Miguel tried to intercept the pass but the ball fell kindly for Eboue to bury into the back of the net at the far post.
The second half started as slowly as the first half with the Sable Antelopes not showing too much urgency to get back on level terms, perhaps because they were trying not to concede more goals.
However, it all backfired in the worst way in the 64th minute when substitute Abdel Keita delivered a long pass that looked like a routine catch or punch for the goalkeeper.
However, lack of communication saw defender Dani Massunguna heading the ball over the advancing Wilson, leaving Bony with the easiest task of pushing the ball into an open net.
The Elephants could’ve extended their advantage ten minutes later when Max Gradel’s corner was flicked on by Igor Lolo but Sol Bamba headed wide from point blank range.
The Angolans started committing men forward and came close to pulling one goal back in 80th minute when Manucho connected with a corner at the near post, but his glancing header drew a brilliant reflex save from Daniel Yeboah, who had not had much to do throughout the match.
The Sable Antelopes then had another good chance two minutes later when a cross was delivered into the far post towards Nando Rafal and Marco Airosa, but the latter’s header was cleared off the line by Kolo Toure.
With Sudan beating Burkina Faso 2-1 in Bata, it spelt the end of the road for Angola as the Falcons of Jediane pipped them to second place on goal difference.
_pulls_on_ivory_coast_defender_kolo_toures_shirt.jpg "Angola's Midfielder Amaral Felisberto S. da Graca (R) pulls on Ivory Coast defender Kolo Toure's shirt")
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