24 - 30 January 2002
Issue No.570
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 24 - 30 January 2002 Issue No.570 |
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Fine defence but little else
Egypt was close to taking a point from its opening match in the ANC championship but, as Nashwa Abdel-Tawab reports, Senegal pulled the rug out
Egypt was headed for what looked like a draw in the opening match in the African Nations Cup (ANC) in Mali but an opportune header eight minutes from time gave Senegal a late victory.
Senegalese Moussa N'Diaye (R) fights for the ball with Egyptian Amr Fahim during their group D match in Bamako
photo: AFP
The first clash in the so-called Group of Death was billed as a showdown between two star attackers, Senegal's Al- Hadji 'Serial Killer' Diouf and Khaled Bebo but the game was defence- dominated almost throughout, leaving both forwards little opportunity to show off their attacking skills.
With time running out, Essam El- Hadari punched away the fifth Senegalese corner of a bruising game, and Lamine Diatta delicately headed the ball back over the goalkeeper and several defenders into the net.
Diouf, from French club Lens, wasted a glorious chance in the closing stages when his shot from inside the penalty area was blocked by El-Hadari after he had broken clear.
The win was greeted with a mixture of delight and relief by Senegal's French coach, Bruno Metsu, who has attained hero status since successfully guiding the 'Lions of Teranga' to this year's World Cup.
"It was an extremely difficult victory against a very good Egypt side," Metsu said. "Winning the first match in our group is very important. It takes a bit of the pressure off in the remaining games."
"They made it almost impossible for us with their defence," Metsu said admiringly. "They were so hard to break down."
Egypt captain Hani Ramzi was distraught at the loss and admitted the Pharaohs' Nations Cup hopes were now hanging in the balance. "It was very disappointing to concede a goal from a corner at that late stage after we had defended and played so well," he said. "We've made it harder for ourselves now. We've got a good chance to go through but we can't afford any more mistakes," the Kaiserslautern libero added.
Despite the loss, Egypt could take pride in its stalwart defence which was missing stopper Ibrahim Said. Said was dismissed from the team on the eve of the match after he refused to stay in the same hotel as the squad. The controversial Ahli star also refused to lace up against Senegal.
Egypt will meet Tunisia tomorrow in the second encounter of the tournament for both sides. "It's the most difficult game," said Egypt coach Mahmoud El- Gohari, "since there is always tension between the two."
Cameroon kicked off the defence of its African Nations Cup crown with a solid victory over DR Congo. Cameroon, aiming to become the first side since Ghana 37 years ago to successfully retain the African title, took all three points off the Congolese in Group C, thanks to a wonder goal from Italy- based striker Patrick Mboma.
Picking up a short pass midway inside the DR Congo half, the Parma player sprinted across the field, watched by four seemingly mesmerised defenders before unleashing a thunderbolt. Goalkeeper Nkombe Tokala never stood a chance as the ball flew over him into the roof of the net to the delight of a large Cameroon following in Sikasso's 15,000-seat stadium.
While Senegal and Cameroon got off the mark smoothly, South Africa's tournament began with a wobble which took the form of a 0-0 draw against Burkina Faso in Segou.
Burkina coach Jacques Yameogo said on the eve of the Group B match that his players would fight like warriors and they did, rattling Bafana Bafana (The Boys) into numerous unforced errors.
The Stallions could even have won on a warm evening with Moumouni Dagano spurning a chance in each half against opponents who lost captain and crack striker Shaun Bartlett with a foot injury early in the first half. Dagano burst clear late in the opening half but his pass to unmarked Omar Barro was poor and a golden opportunity was lost to rock the team ranked second in Africa behind Tunisia.
Burkina Faso was thought to be the weakest of South Africa's first-round opponents.
South Africa's under-fire coach, Carlos Queiroz, said afterwards that the draw was a fair reflection of the game but at the same time his team faced "physical intimidation." "I'm not disappointed. The draw was a fair result. We lost a player and it was very difficult to play our skilful football. We faced a lot of physical intimidation but my players never quit. We always tried to play, unfortunately we failed to score. That was my disappointment," Queiroz said. "If this is the way all our matches will be, we will end the tournament without most of our first team."
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