Comoros beat Ghana to secure their first-ever AFCON win

 

Comoros secured their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations win against four-time champions Ghana with a pulsating 3-2 win on Tuesday evening.

Comoros took an early lead in the fourth minute of the game through Ben Nabouhane. The game took another twist for Ghana when Andre Ayew was sent off in the 25th minute of the game.

Mogni doubled Comoros’s lead in the 61st minute to seemingly seal the exit of the black stars who needed to win to stand a chance of a next-round appearance. Those hopes were restored when Boakye put Ghana back in the contest with a 64th-minute strike while Alex Djiku pulled Ghana level with 13 minutes left to play.

Mogni broke Ghanaian hearts with five minutes left on the clock as the island nation recorded a first-ever AFCON win after losing to Morocco and Gabon in their opening two games.

Comoros ended the group in third with three points, two behind Gabon and four behind Morocco and two more than Ghana. They stand a slim chance of making the next round as one of the best third-placed teams.

Meanwhile, it was a four-goal thriller between Gabon and Morocco as both teams played a 2-2 draw. The Panthers were without Mario Lemina and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, who both had heart complications after contracting Allevinah opened the scoring for the Gabonese, but Boufal equalized from the spot.

Moroccan defender Aguero scored an own goal to give Gabon the lead, but it lasted just three minutes as Achraf Hakimi equalized for the Atlas Lions.

Nevertheless, the Moroccans qualified as group winners with seven points while Gabon followed in second.

In Group B, Zimbabwe got their first win of the competition with a 2-1 victory over Guinea, albeit it was too little too late as they finished bottom of the group behind Senegal, Guinea, and Malawi in that order.

Meanwhile, Senegal put up yet another disappointing display against Malawi as both teams played a 0-0 draw on Tuesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, group D fixtures will see Nigeria face Guinea Bissau while Egypt will play Sudan.

 

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu