Cote d’Ivoire are AFCON 2015 champions after beating Ghana 9-8 on penalties. In house it feels like a case of ‘I told you so’ as I had my heart set on seeing Algeria lift the trophy and most others were telling me from the start it would be the Mighty Elephants. It must be said, however, that although all respect must go to the Ivorians for their victory, the Ghanaians did look the better team out there. Penalty shootouts continue to be a very tense affair and the decider of too many titles for my liking. All the effort put into the 90+ minutes seems to come to naught and it’s all about the keeper and a completely different set of footballing skills. Be that as it may, Yaya Tore got to raise the AFCON trophy last night and celebrate with a team that last won an AFCON final back in 1992.
There is very little to speak about concerning the match itself, that had few shots at goal, and Ghana came really close in the 25th minute with a superb strike from the brilliant Christian Atsu. Ghana seemed the more adventurous of the two teams and played more attractive football. The Ivorian defense was tested and where shown to be heroic, on a night when only being like a brick wall was ever going to be acceptable. It was great to see Ghana captain and star striker Asamoah Gyan on the park, after a scary start to his stay in Equatorial Guinea. He passed a late fitness test to be in what was called a ‘dream West Africa final’. Ivory Coast also made a few changes for the game, one being the inclusion of goalkeeper Boubacar Barry, at the expense of Sylvain Gbohouo and what a night for Barry, with photos of him being carried on shoulders, appearing all over the internet. And rightly so!
The final moved to the irritatingly popular penalty shootout, that started atrociously for the Ivorians, missing their first 2 attempts and it seemed they might never recover. It went down to 22 shots at goal before Barry stepped up to defend against a shot from his counterpart, Razak Braimah, which he did with consummate ease. He then stepped up to take what was to be the final penalty shot, a face dripping with perspiration and rain, totally focused and determined and did not disappoint. I couldn’t even imagine the pressure he felt but he didn’t even waver in his professionalism and sent his team, their supporters and, no doubt, his entire football mad nation into pure hysteria! It’s been 22 years since they held that AFCON trophy aloft, but Yaya Toure and his men from The Ivory Coast, got to hold it aloft and have their names printed forever in the history books of African football.
Although on the losing team, AFCON 2015 awards went to Ghana’s Andre Ayew for top scorer, and Christian Atsu was judged to be the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for his sterling displays across the tournament. And to prove that Ghana won everything except the final, Afriyie Acquah took honouors for man of the match.
Do you agree with the sentiments of many, that Ghana were the better team, or are you thrilled to see the Mighty Elephants hold that beautiful AFCON trophy; we’d love to hear from you.
You can see video highlights of the final here, thank to Supersport.com.