adminZambia 0-0 Cape Verde
DR Congo 1-1 Tunisia
Zambia are out of the 2015 Africa Nations Cup after a scoreless draw against Cape Verde in their final Group B match in Ebebiyin.
It is the second successive tournament that the 2012 champions have been eliminated from the Africa Cup.
Their exit is even more sour as Zambia depart from Equatorial Guinea where they launched their path to victory in 2012.
Zambia finished bottom of Group B on two points, five behind group winners Tunisia and two adrift of DR Congo who pipped Cape Verde to second place on goal difference.
The first half of this encounter was a hot and cold affair with both sides creating very little chances.
Cape Verde though were lively through their winger Heldon who whipped in cross after cross into Zambia’s area.
But the quality of his crosses was equalled by the class of defender Stopilla Sunzu whose interceptions and gritty tackling were too much for Cape Verde’s attackers.
Zambia on the other hand had two great chances in the first half with Evans Kangwa’s 15th minute effort going marginally wide after he beat Cape Verde goalkeeper Josimar Dias.
Chipolopolo captain Rainford Kalaba too had a go at Dias but saw his volley in the 23rd minute tipped out for a corner.
Cape Verde’s best effort came on 45 minutes when Garry Rodrigues’ grass-cutter free kick rolled across the face of the Zambia goal with no one committed to clearing it from Chipolopolo or putting the final touch by the Blue Sharks.
The second half was blighted by a heavy tropical storm that drenched any hopes of sparks in front of goal from both sides.
Cape Verde had a couple of half-hearted chances through Ordair and Heldon but Kennedy Mweene was alert to the danger.
Zambia on the other hand could have snatched a dramatic winner in stoppage time through Mukuka Mulenga.
However, the 82nd minute substitute fired a through ball from Kalaba across the face of goal to summarise Chipolopolo’s story at this year’s tournament.
Meanwhile, DR Congo and Tunisia drew 1-1 as Tunisia’s Ahmed Akaichi netted first in their Africa Cup of Nations Group A match yesterday, but Loteka Bokila’s late goal ensured both teams qualify for the knockout stages.
After a number of attempts at goal that could have seen a much higher scoreline, the teams settled for a draw after Bokila equalised with the second chance he got after coming on.
Playing on a rainy pitch it was Tunisia that started the match with energy and pace which somehow saw DR Congo chasing shadows for a while. Despite all this, with Tunisia pushing hard they ended up committing unnecessary fouls.
In the 9th minute Tunisia got the first clear chance on goal, but Ferjani Sassi wasted the opportunity after Joel Kimwaki defended well.
Ten minutes later Tunisia came back strong once again. This time it was Yassine Chikhaoui who created space inside the box, turned and pulled the trigger but Robert Kidiaba made a brilliant save to keep the ball out the net.
Congo pulled up their socks and started attacking with full force. Tunisia continued to make silly fouls and it was the TP Mazembe player Jean Kasusula who came close to opening the scoring for Congo and gave Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi his first test of the match through a set piece.
In the 31st minute Tunisia finally broke the deadlock through a header from Ahmed Akaichi who received a ball from Yassine Chikhaoui to put Tunisia into a 1-0 lead.
DR Congo pushed hard to equalise before the end of the first half but Tunisia’s defence was too solid and did not give them any chance.
In the second half Dieumerci Mbokani had a one on one with Tunisia goalkeeper Mathlouthi but failed to beat him as he cleared the ball away in the 53rd minute. In the 60th minute DR Congo’s coach tried something new by bringing in Loteka Bokila from the bench to replace Cedric Makiadi.
Four minutes later Tunisia captain Chikhaoui wasted a great opportunity to put his team into a 2-0 lead as his shot whistled over the top.
Then Bokila made great use of his second chance as he got in front of two defenders to equalise for his team in the 66th minute, following a headed pass by Mbokani.
Both teams continued to put pressure on each other’s defence but it was to stay 1-1. — SuperSport.
Online Reporter