LEAD: Aubameyang goal keeps Gabon top of table

By Peter Auf der Heyde Jan 31, 2012, 21:39 GMT

Libreville, Gabon - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's match-winning goal for Gabon against Tunisia in Franceville on Tuesday saw the co-hosts top group C at the Africa Cup of Nations.

The 1-0 result was Gabon's third win from as many matches and takes them to nine points, while Tunisia, who had already qualified for the knock-out stage ahead of the last group game, finished second on six points.

Morocco, who beat Niger 1-0 in the other group game played at the same time in Libreville, finished on three points, while Niger failed to pick up a point.

In Franceville, both sides seemed determined to win the match to avoid a potential quarter-final clash with Ghana, one of the tournament favorites.

Aubameyang, whose father Pierre captained the Panthers in 1994 and was in the squad two years later when they escaped the group stage for the first time, was set up by Daniel Cousin in the 62nd minute.

The St Etienne striker carried the ball into the area before beating goalkeeper Rami Jeridi to take his tally to three for the tournament, making him joint top scorer with Angola's Manucho and Morocco's Houcine Kharjah.

Tunisia, who went into the game knowing that they would have to win to finish above Gabon, pushed forward in search of goals after falling behind but could not find any way through a strong Gabonese defence.

Gabon face the runner-up of group D in Sunday's semi-final in Libreville, while Tunisia take on the winner of the group in the other semi-final on Sunday in Franceville.

In the other game Tuesday in Libreville, Moroccan coach Eric Gerets made numerous changes to his side, which had already been eliminated from the competition ahead of the game.

Although organizers gave away free tickets for the game, barely 1,000 spectators lost themselves in the 40,000-seater Stade de l'Amitie.

They saw a disappointing match, in which Morocco dominated but failed to break through until the 79th minute when Younes Belhanda finally scored.

The biggest cheer of the afternoon in the stadium erupted when it was announced that Gabon had taken the lead in Franceville.

Morocco coach Eric Gerets said that he was pleased to have seen that his side showed a determination to come back after the two earlier defeats.

'I think they showed that they want to do well. We are, of course, disappointed, but I think today we made some effort to put the defeats to the side,' the Belgian said.

Earlier, Ivory Coast and Sudan had qualified for the round of the last eight from group B, while co-hosts Equatorial Guinea and Zambia made it out of group A.

The remaining two quarter-final places will be determined in Wednesday's group D matches in Franceville and Libreville.