The third quarterfinal at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations tournament was held on Sunday at Stade D’Oyem, north in the Gabon forest jungles.
I had last been to the town a few days ago when Uganda Cranes held the much fancied Mali Eagles to a one goal stalemate.
A few hours to the game, we departed the Leon Mba International Airport in Libreville via the tournament official flight courtesy of COCAN and Afri-Jet Airways.
Usually, the passengers on that flight (players, referees, CAF officials, LOC and Journalists) are booked 24 hours before the journey.
Because on the same day, there were two quarterfinal clashes lined up (Egypt vs Morocco in Port Gentil and DR Congo vs Ghana in Oyem), there was a great demand to travel.
Passengers flooded the check-in terminal as early as 7 a.m.
To ensure order, there were three shifts of movement communicated.
I happened to have been booked on the second shift and we left Libreville at half past 2 p.m (local time), only to reach Oyem in 50 minutes.
By that time, the Stade D’Oyem stands were nearly half full with a number of painted Congolese and Ghanaian fans braced for the match.
As soon as I reached the stadium, I quickly checked in at the media center for the match day press tags, had my lunch in a hurry, picked the match team sheets before I rushed to the media tribune when I comfortably followed the match proceedings.
Unlike during the Uganda game when it rained and the stadium was unplayable, this time round, the surface was great.
Ghana neutralized DR Congo’s early dominance before winning the game 2-1 to make their 16th semifinal in 21 appearances at AFCON.
Immediately after the final whistle, it was time for the mandatory post-match press conference where I witnessed the man of the match Jordan Ayew (scorer of Ghana’s opening goal on the day) being handed over his accolade.
Quickly, I left the press conference room and ‘sprinted’ to the media shuttle which was heading to Oyem Airport (situated about 17 KM from the stadium).
At the airport, we checked in and were airlifted by a military helicopter to Mongomo, a town in the nearby Equatorial Guinea.
Because the main COCAN plane does not land nor set off after 6 p.m local time at Oyem Airport due to the absence of lights at the facility which is still under construction, the helicopter (3C LVV) was the best option.
The Helicopter experience was another great moment for many of the passengers on board.
Acquiring the limited seats on the helicopter was on a first come, first serve basis – depending on your personal reaction force.
Luckily, with the aid of my diplomatic fast reaction antics (used back in the days of my football playing days), I was among the 30 passengers who afforded to get seats as others remained standing with their hands tightly gripped onto the ropes.
Many others sat on the floor (though with comfort).
The journey from Oyem to Mongomo lasted for just 20 minutes before we safely landed at the Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Airport at around 10:30 p.m (local time).
We were warmly welcomed by ushers who spoke a mixture of fluent Spanish and ‘half baked’ French.
“Bienvenidos a Guinea Ecuatorial – Welcome to to Equatorial Guinea” one ushered spoke, as I smiled back instead.
We spent around two hour hours awaiting the COCAN plane to come from Libreville and pick us for the night’s rest.
It was a great experience and by time the plane landed at Mongomo, I had grasped a few Spanish basic words.
The experience flying back late at night to Libreville was worthwhile until we arrived and returned to my Ambowe apartment, on the out skirts of the capital city.
By this time of the night, it was well after mid-night and the following day being an off day for the tournament, I minded less since I would rest.
Monday and Tuesday were the second official two tournament resting days ahead of the explosive semifinals on Wednesday and Thursday.
On Monday, Ghana flew South to Franceville with a Mongomo stop over.
On the same day, Egypt made the 20 minute trip to Libreville from Port Gentil.
I can’t wait to wait to watch Burkina Faso against Egypt at the Stade De L’Amitie in Libreville before flying South to catch Cameroon play Ghana in a typical West African derby.
Just like the famous Herve Renard failed to predict which two countries will make the final, I am also finding a hard time to predict who will make it.
Samba….
