Africa Cup of Nations 2013: Ghana win, Congo-DR disappoint in draw

Niger earned their first ever Africa Cup of Nations point by holding the Democratic Republic of the Congo to a 0-0 draw in what was realistically a fair poor match. Neither side had the quality that they needed to break down the opposition’s defence, and it showed as attacks constantly fell apart for no reason at all.

Yes, there were a couple of great scoring chances, both of which came in the first half. Modibo Sidibe found himself free on goal, beat Muteba Kidiaba and Niger were only thwarted from taking a 1-0 lead by the base of the post. In general, DRC were well on top, however, and it took a fantastic save from Menas keeper Kassaly Daouda to prevent the favourites taking a lead when Deiudonne Mbokani was able to shoot more or less unchallenged from the penalty spot.

Ghana still haven’t quite hit their stride in the Africa Cup of Nations, but they closed stronger against Mali on Thursday than they did in their opening match. Just like they did against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they took a first half lead, but unlike that match, they were able to hold on for three points in their 1-0 victory.

The Black Stars dodged an early bullet when goalkeeper Fatawu Dauda handled the ball outside of the penalty area deliberately in the 7th minute. He could have seen red, but the referee only showed him a yellow card and Mali was unable to do anything with the ensuing free kick.