Equatorial Guinea got off their campaign at the 2012 Orange Africa Cup of Nations to a winning start after beating Libya by a lone goal in the tournament opener on Saturday at the Estadio de Bata.
Forward Balboa Osa scored the only goal of the match on 86 minutes to hand the Nzalang Nacional the desired perfect start.
Libya got off to a bright footing dictating the pace in the opening minutes. Whilst the hosts were searching for their feet, the North Africans had settled and were nosing for goals.
Minutes later there was a swing in tide and the Nzalang Nacional cheered on by the pack crowd came into the fore. Captain Juvenal had the upperhand in the midfield and fed his colleagues with his tailor-measured passes consistently.
Libyan veteran goalie and captain Samir Abod was the busier of the two shot-stoppers as he was called to duty often. The Libyan defence was threatened by the effective threesome of Balboa, Bolado and Konate-Mamadou who were a mouthful to handle.
On 25 minutes, Konate-Mamadou forced a parried save from Abod with his effort from close range shot. Few minutes later, the upright was to the rescue of the Libyans as Juvenal’s goalboound shot kissed it.
The Libyans made occasional moves upfront but burly striker Ahmed Zuway was heavily policed and his presence was rarely felt.
Libya started the second half again brightly but it was the hosts who made the first attempt at goal on 53 minutes as Juvenal laid a perfect pass to Fidjeu Tazemata but the latter’s half volley went wide.
Libya goalie Abod was to his side’s rescue once again on 73 minutes as he stretched his full limit to ward off Laurence Doe’s thunderbolt from a free-kick.
The stadium almost erupted as Equatorial Guinea captain Bodipo Diaz came on for Konate-Mamadou, but he won’t last long after a ankle injury that saw him being carried off the stretcher.
Whilst the fans were mourning the injury to Bodipo, Balboa restored smiles on their faces four minutes from time by breaking the deadlock. After profiting from a loose ball in the middle, he ran through the Libyan defence before firing past Abod for the opener.
The Nzalang Nacional held unto the victory and for the fans it was time to party as they sang and danced to celebrate the feat.
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