Zambia prevent dream final as they take on Ivory Coast

By Peter Auf der Heyde Feb 8, 2012, 21:12 GMT

Libreville, Gabon - Zambia and Ivory Coast will meet in the Africa Cup of Nations final after winning their semi-final games on Wednesday.

Zambia prevented the dream final between Ghana and Ivory Coast when they stunned the Black Stars 1-0 from Emmanuel Mayuka, while Ivory Coast beat Mali by the same score through Gervinho's first-half goal.

Ivorian coach Francois Zahoui said that even though he had a very strong side at his disposal, he had wondered when he got the job whether he was up to the task.

'I have had good backing, and they have had confidence in me, and I have a very good relationship with the players. This has reflected in the results, and I am proud of what we have achieved as a team so far,' he said.

Mali's Ousmane Berthe said that he was disappointed at having lost yet happy to have come this far.

'I think we have played well, and even though we lost against Ivory Coast, they are a big team,' the defender said. 'I think this Mali team is a very strong side that can still go far in the future.'

The match between the two west African rivals in the Gabonese capital of Libreville was a completely one-sided affair, with the Elephants hitting the woodwork twice in the opening 15 minutes.

Captain Didier Drogba headed against the post from a free-kick after just six minutes, and Yaya Toure came close when his shot crashed against the upright shortly after.

Surprisingly, it took Ivory Coast all of 45 minutes to take the lead, but the goal then was worth the wait as Arsenal midfielder Gervinho received the ball well into his half before running the entire length and beating Soumaila Diakite with a well-placed shot.

Ivory Coast continued looking too strong for Mali in the second half, and Drogba could have added a second in the 77th minute after evading his marker.

Diakite came out to meet the Chelsea striker and gave the ball enough of a deflection to allow a defender to clear it from the line.

Mali, who were looking for only their second final, pushed men forward toward the end of the game looking for an equalizer, but never really came close to beating Ivorian goalkeeper Boubacar Barry, who is yet to concede a goal at this tournament.

At the final whistle, the Ivorian players rushed over to the stands, where a large contingent of their fans celebrated the victory, which took the team to their third final.

Zambia will make their third appearance at the final of the showpiece of African football, having last played in the championship match in 1994.

Poignantly, Sunday's final is in Libreville, where virtually the entire Zambian national team perished in 1993 when a plane carrying them to a World Cup match crashed into the sea, 500 metres from the Gabonese capital, killing all on board.

In front of yet another disappointingly small crowd in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, both sides missed several good scoring opportunities in the first half.

Ghana's Asamoah Gyan saw his penalty saved by Kennedy Mweene early on, and the Black Stars ended the match with 10 players after Derek Boateng was sent off for a second bookable offence in the 84th.

Mweene again got the better of Gyan shortly after the penalty, as he saved his long-range shot.

Ten minutes from the break, Christopher Katongo was sent through by Rainford Kalaba, but the Zambian captain pulled his shot wide after slipping on the wet ground.

It finally all went horribly wrong for the Black Stars when Mayuka gave the Chipolopolo the lead in the 78th minute with a curling shot from the edge of the area.

Derek Boateng was then sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Isaac Chansa.

Ghana still came close to equalizing in the dying moments, but Ayew and Samuel Inkoom were denied by some resolute Zambian defending.