Test Drive Feb 2015 | Page 7

Champions of Africa! semi-final, 6 February 2015 Nuevo Estadio de Malabo DR Congo 1 (Mbokani 23’) Cote D’Ivoire 3 (Y Toure 20’, Gervihno GOAL! Gervinho doubles the Elephants’ lead against DR Congo. 41’, Kanono 67’) DR Congo looked as the side to score the first goal in the opening ten minutes when Gbohouo parried away a Bokila shot. It was the Elephants who opened the scoring in the 20th minute through Yaya Toure’s stunning volley. The lead was cancelled out almost immediately when Mbokani converted from the penalty spot. Gervihno restored the Ivorians’ lead in the 41st minute with a clinical finish. Moments later, the Roma man’s header hit the crossbar. Cote D’voire continued to dominate the match and added a 3rd goal in the 67th minute through Wilfred Kanon. Cote D’Ivoire looked like the side to open the scoring as they were denied early on, with Yaya Toure’s free kick saved by Braimah and Gradel shooting wide of Razak’s goal. Ghana’s best scoring opportunity came in the 25th minute when their attempt at goal struck the upright. The second half saw both sides struggling to create scoring chances and it ended goalless. The extra half an hour was the same as the rest of the match as it did not produce scoring opportunities, forcing the match to be decided on penalty shoot-out. On the penalty shoot-out, it was the Elephants who were victorious as Boubacar Barry scored the winning penalty Final, 8 February 2015 Nuevo Estadio de Malabo Ghana 0 Cote D’Ivoire 0 After extra time, Cote D’Ivoire won 9-8 on penalties. AFCON 2015: The Review 7 PHOTOS: afcononline.com CHAMPIONS! Cote D’Ivoire players celebrate with their mentor after AFCON 2015 success.