Ivory Coast survive wobble against DR Congo to reach Cup of Nations final
• DR Congo 1-3 Ivory Coast
• Mbokani 24pen; Y Touré 21, Gervinho 41, Kanon 68
Ivory Coast's Wilfried Kanon is congratulated by Eric Bailly after scoring his team's third goal against DR Congo.
Could it be that one of the longest waits in football is at last coming to an end? For a decade, Africa has expected Ivory Coast’s golden generation at last to reach fulfilment and perhaps now, as the Elephants approach their third final in nine years, the itch will be scratched. Yet perhaps this isn’t even the golden generation any more: after all, only four players remain from the squad that lost to the hosts in the final in Egypt in 2006.
Three of them, the Touré brothers and Siaka Tiene, played key roles in the 3-1 semi-final victory over DR Congo and there was even a moment when it seemed that the notoriously hapless goalkeeper Boubacar Barry would be called upon after Sylvain Gbohouo – a significant upgrade; he has had an excellent tournament and made a startling second-half save from Yannick Bolassie – suffered a first-half injury.
Hervé Renard, despite leading Ivory Coast into the final for the third time in six tournaments, was not entirely satisfied. “I did not like the game,” he said. “We didn’t do all the things very well. We were sometimes too easy; maybe we didn’t respect sometimes the opponent.”
He also made a point of congratulating the DRC coach Florent Ibengé on a “magnificent season” having not merely for led his nation to the last four of the Cup of Nations but also having taken his club, AS Vita, to the final of the African Champions League.
This has been a strange season for Yaya Touré, long spells of mediocrity punctured by the occasional brilliant goal and, in December, a patch of sustained form. His Cup of Nations has been largely disappointing, for all that the Ivorians had given the impression of slowly building into the tournament, but with 20 minutes played, he produced one of those superb strikes of which he is capable even on his most insipid days, lashing the ball into the top corner from just outside the penalty area after Wilfried Bony had been challenged.
Four minutes later, DR Congo were level. Ivory Coast’s back three of Eric Bailly, Kolo Touré and Wilfried Kanon has been one of their strengths but they looked jittery from the off, perhaps unsettled by the presence of Dieumerci Mbokani. A simple cross from the DRC right should not have caused any great difficulties but Bailly, perhaps unsighted by Loteteka Bokila, flapped an arm and handled to concede a penalty. Mbokani’s spot-kick was side-footed and precise.
A rattled Yaya Touré was soon booked for dissent and, for a brief time, it seemed the Ivorians might crumble. Mbokani had a shot superbly saved by Gbohouo following a slight deflection off Tiene, and slowly the game settled into the pattern that had been expected: that of Congolese domination of possession and Ivorian breaks.
A forward surge by Bailly led to him playing in Serge Aurier to cross for Gervinho, whose header beat Robert Kidiaba but was brilliantly nodded against the bar by Peterborough’s Gabriel Zakuani. Just a minute later, though, the Roma forward did strike. Bolasie was badly at fault, presenting possession to Bony, who laid the ball outside him for Gervinho to score with a sharp first-time finish. For all the mockery he endured at Arsenal, for all the tentative performances he has given for his country, it was heartening to see him playing with such conviction and freedom, his pace on the break an essential part of the Ivorian gameplan.
And perhaps that mode of play is itself telling. Repeatedly failures have bred a sense of realism and pragmatism and where once they seemed to feel the need to dominate opponents, to assert their goldenness, this is a side happy to play essentially as their coach, Renard, had Zambia play when they won the tournament Equatorial Guinea co-hosted three years ago, sitting deep, thwarting opponents and striking on the break. Their third came from a corner, Kanon sweeping the rebound home after Aurier’s header had been saved.
Tactical acumen aside, Renard’s other great attribute is his lucky white shirt. He has now taken charge of 18 Cup of Nations matches and has worn white on 17 occasions; his only defeat came the time he wore navy blue. With DRC wearing white, he was forced to cover it up beneath a black jacket last night, but the charm held. The Ivorians, after a decade of frustration, hope that the magic can last one more game, against either Equatorial Guinea or Ghana, to bring at least the vestiges of the golden generation to glory on Sunday.
Guardian