Zambia 1- 0 Uganda
Captain Christopher Katongo scored in the 20th minute after tapping in a long throw in from Davies Nkausu to give the reigning Afcon champions a 1-0 victory over Uganda at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia. Herve Renard’s boys can be through to South Africa next year if they avoid a two goal marginal loss at Namboole stadium on October 13.
Liberia 2 -2 Nigeria
Nigeria’s Super Eagles were held to a 2-all draw by hosts Liberia in Saturday’s 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match in Monrovia. The hosts took the lead early into the encounter through Omega Roberts in the eighth minute. But Nosa Igiebor leveled the score on 14 minutes. Two minutes later Ikechukwu Uche stepped up to the penalty spot and scored Nigeria’s second after Victor Moses was brought down. A second half blunder by custodian Vincent Enyeama aided Sekou Oliseh to send the home fans in wild celebrations.
Mali 3 – 0 Botswana
Mali, who finished third in the last edition held in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, utilized home advantage to beat opponents Botswana Zebras 3-0. Cheick Diabate put Mali ahead on 27 minutes from the 12 yards before Tenima Enday added a second just before the hour mark. That lead was made more comfortable by Modibo Maiga scoring again for the hosts 20 minutes before the end in what was ultimately a routine victory.
Cape Verde 2-0 Cameroon
Cape Verde caused one of the biggest surprises in recent times after securing a 2-0 victory in the first leg of their qualifier over Cameroon in Praia. The victory is arguably the biggest in the history of the country and confirms the downward spiral of the Indomitable Lions. Cape Verde’s goals came via Ricardo, who netted midway through the first half, and Djaniny, who added a second just past the hour-mark.
Sudan 5-3 Ethiopia
Sudan edged East African neighbours Ethiopia in a thrilling contest played in Omdurman which produced eight goals during first leg of the final qualifier for the Orange AFCON 2013. The visitors were down 3-1 but got it back to 3-3 before Sudan had substitute Mohannad Al-Thir to thank for his brace of penalties which in the end confirmed their victory. Sudan coach Mazda introduced striker Bakry Abdulgadir and the two veterans Haitham Mustafa and Mohannad Al-Tahir but Ethiopia who changed things round scoring their third goal and equaliser through by Adane Girma. He headed home on 68thminute much to the disbelief of the home fans. Sudan seemed shell shocked and only recovered in the last 10 minutes when Al Tahir converted penalties on 83 and 90 minutes.
Ivory Coast 4 – 2 Senegal
Ivory Coast came from behind twice to defeat Senegal 4-2 in a qualifier that lived up to its match-of-the-day billing. Spectacular goals from Dame Ndoye and Papiss Cisse gave Senegal the lead in each half only for Salomon Kalou and Gervinho to snatch equalisers before Didier Drogba and Max Gradel scored in the final 10 minutes of a high-tempo thriller. The teams meet again in Dakar and the aggregate winners of the second round fixture advance to the 16-nation tournament in South Africa next January and February.
Sierra Leone 2 – 2 Tunisia
Despite taking the lead twice, Sierra Leone had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Tunisia in their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the National Stadium in Freetown.
The Leone Stars opened the scoring in the eigth minute when Sheriff Suma collected the ball inside the box following a misplaced clearance from a Tunisian defender, before firing the ball into the roof of the net. The visitors equalised midway through the second half in the 65th minute through a goal from defender Fateh Gharbi, who fired past the goalkeeper from inside the box following some good passing from Sami Trabelsi’s men. The hosts then regained their lead in the 85th minute from another error as Tunisian goalkeeper Aymeni Mathlouthi failed to collect a cross from the right, allowing Alhassan Kamara to side-foot the ball into the back of the net. However, Lars-Olof Mattsson’s men failed to hold on to their lead and two minutes later Esperance midfielder Youssef Msakni scored a crucial equaliser from the Tunisians from close range following some poor defending from the hosts. This results means that Sierra Leone will have to score at least one goal in the second leg which will at the Stade Mustapha Ben Jannet in Monastir on October 13.
Ghana 2 – 0 Malawi
The Ghana Black Stars gave their dream of making an appearance at the next African Cup of Nations in South Africa a major boost after dousing the Flames of Malawi 2-0 in the first leg of the last qualifier played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday. Ghana scored early in each half to triumph 2-0 against Malawi in Accra with Christian Atsu putting the Black Stars ahead and Anthony Annan also on target against rivals reduced to 10 men after James Sangala was cautioned twice.
Gabon 1 – 1 Togo
Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor crowned his promotion to captain of Togo by equalising in a 1-1 draw against Gabon after veteran Daniel Cousin had put the home team ahead. A frantic end in Libreville saw Adebayor cancel out Cousin’s 85th minute header, bring the game to a one-all draw in the first leg of the African Cup of Nations qualifiers. Adebayor made his third start since agreeing to return to international football, following the bus attack incident in 2010, and they were hoping to grab their first win against the Panthers since 2009.
Central African Republic 1 – 0 Burkina Faso
Vianney Mabide netted during the opening half to earn surprise last-30 qualifiers Central African Republic a 1-0 home victory over Burkina Faso in Bangui. The Central Africans reached the final elimination round by toppling record seven-time Cup of Nations champions Egypt in one of the biggest shocks since qualifying was introduced 45 years ago.
Zimbabwe 3-1 Angola
Zimbabwe made a bold statement of intent after an impressive first-leg victory over Angola in the first leg of the final qualifier for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals on Sunday. Rahman Gumbo’s men were gifted an early advantage after Mateus turned the ball into his own net after four minutes before Khama Billiat squeezed in a second at the near post on 20 minutes. Achieford Gutu then turned in a header to put the home fans in seventh heaven shortly after the half-hour mark. Angola midfielder Djalma pulled one back for Angola on 58 minutes. Zimbabwe suffered a big blow as they lost Tapuwa Kapini to injury. The Warriors – missing star striker Knowledge Musona through injury – held on to take a two-goal advantage to Luanda for the return leg. Zimbabwe’s neighbours South Africa are the hosts of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
Mozambique 2-0 Morocco
Mozambique took a giant step to qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations due January in South Africa next year when they beat Morocco 2-0 in Maputo at the Machava Stadium in the first leg of the qualifiers on Sunday afternoon. Amiro Lobo and Elias Palembe scored the two vital goals in the second half that put Mozambique in the driving seat ahead of their return in Rabat next month. Morocco were the losing finalists at the 2004 Afcon that was won by hosts Tunisia.
DR Congo 4-0 Equatorial Guinea
Claude Le Roy’s side DR Congo defeated opponents Equatorial Guinea 4-0 in the first leg of their final round qualifier against in Kinshasa on Sunday.
Dieumerci Mbokani’s hat-trick and Deo Kanda goal were enough after a frustrating first half for side, who dominated proceedings but could not find the breakthrough.
Guinea 1-0 Niger
Guinea will be happy to take a 1-0 lead to Niamey for the second leg in October but Niger will feel they can turn this one round – they beat Egypt, Sierra Leone and South Africa at home as they qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year. Ibrahim Yattara gave hosts Guinea the lead five minutes after the break in Conakry. He scored after some good work down the left by Stuttgart’s Ibrahima Traore.
Libya 0-1 Algeria
Ugly scenes in Casablanca as players and officials from Libya and Algeria get involved in a brawl. A lot of pushing and shoving. The game itself hadn’t been marred by too many bad tackles. The Algeria goal in the 87th minute was scored by Hillel Soudani, who plays in Portugal for Vitoria de Guimaraes.
Twitter – @AllanDarren Email: allan@kawowo.com