BATA, Equatorial Guinea - Unfancied Republic of Congo went top of Group A at the African Cup of Nations with a surprise 1-0 win over Gabon on Wednesday after host Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso played out a 0-0 draw.
https://www.losangelesfootballshop.com/36-Jersey .The Congolese ground out a victory — their first at the tournament in over 20 years — that will re-energize their campaign, with Prince Oniangue poking in from close range early in the second half and against the run of play.The result was unfair, Gabon coach Jorge Costa said, as the Gabonese did most of the attacking and couldnt find a finishing touch to follow up their impressive win over Burkina Faso in the first round of games.Football is like this ... When you make mistakes, you lose games, Costa said.The loss dropped Gabon to second in the group, with Equatorial Guinea third and Burkina Faso, the 2013 finalist, last. But just three points separate the top team from the bottom team ahead of the final round of games.Still, Republic of Congo is in a good position to make the quarterfinals after qualifying for the African Cup for the first time in 15 years. Its last appearance in the quarters was in 1992. It won the title in 1972.Having missed out on seven successive African Cups before this year, Republic of Congo only needs a draw against Burkina Faso in their last group game to make the last eight.Goalscorers had problems in the days first match at Bata Stadium, too, as Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso wasted chance after chance in their stalemate.That left the home fans frustrated after Equatorial Guinea survived waves of pressure from the Burkinabes in the first half — when Alain Traore hit the post twice — and emerged the better team in the second.Javier Balboa set up two clear chances for his teammates, but both were wasted. Equatorial Guinea now has a tough assignment against Gabon in the last round of matches to try and claim a place in the quarters at its tournament.It was a bad day all round for the local fans, with some of them clashing with riot police outside the stadium around the time Equatorial Guineas game was kicking off.Equatorial Guineas preparations for the African Cup have come under scrutiny after it had just two months to organize the tournament following Moroccos late withdrawal as host. The tournament had been going OK, but some fans tried to force their way into Wednesdays game, according to witnesses, when they clashed with police near a gate at the outer perimeter of the stadium complex.Ticket control at the main Bata Stadium — where the final will be held on Feb. 8 — appeared to be slack, with ticket machines closer to the stadium not functioning and fans able to wander in and out of them without tickets being checked.___Gerald Imray is on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP href="https://www.losangelesfootballshop.com/45-Jersey" target="_blank">https://www.losangelesfootballshop.com/45-Jersey . Los Angeles announced its new deal for Kupchak late in the fourth quarter of a 145-130 loss to the Houston Rockets. Kupchak had one year left on his current contract.
https://www.losangelesfootballshop.com/90-Jersey . There will be no Down Under four-peat for Djokovic, as the eighth-seeded Swiss slugger Wawrinka outlasted the second seed 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 at Melbourne Parks Rod Laver Arena in yet another five-set thriller in their burgeoning rivalry.PARIS - Bordeaux coach Willy Sagnol has apologized for making disparaging comments about African players in football, although he still maintains they were misinterpreted against a backlash of widespread criticism.Sagnol, capped 58 times by France and a member of the team which lost the 2006 World Cup final, gave a question and answer session Tuesday to readers of Sud Ouest regional newspaper when the subject of African players was raised.The advantage of what I would call the typical African player is that he isnt expensive when you sign him, (he is) a player who is ready for combat, but football isnt just about that, Sagnol said.Explaining himself, he continued: Football is also (about) technique, intelligence. You need a bit of everything. You need Nordics too, Nordics are good.Speaking Thursday at a pre-match news conference ahead of Saturdays game with Lens, Sagnol tried to explain his comments.If by my lack of clarity, or my imperfect semantics, I may have shocked, humiliated or hurt people then I am sorry, Sagnol said. The interpretation that these people may have made does not reflect my way of thinking in any way or my humanist convictions.However, he said the comments made sense in a sporting context.When I spoke about the African (player) who is cheaper and ready for combat, I simply meant to talk about the young African player arriving in Europe with all of his will to win and often to escape from a precarious situation, Sagnol continued as he read from pre-prepared notes. Then, since we were in a debate about football, the intelligence I spoke of was obviously related to tactical intelligence. The forming of young players in Africa, probably because of a lack of financial means, or (lack) of infrastructure, isnt always as complete as whats available in Europe.Sagnol distanced himself from accusations that his viewpoint was offensive.In no way did I mean to talk about an individuals intelligence in the proper sense of the term.
https://www.losangelesfootballshop.com/86-Jersey. Regarding certain accusations of racism, Im 37 (and) Ive spent 32 of them in a football dressing room. Ive never had a problem with anyone, the former Bayern Munich player said.But Lens coach Antoine Kombouare, who was born in New Caledonia, is among those who felt offended by Sagnol.Lets make things clear: this is not a case of him being clumsy. Hes really messed up, Kombouare said. What he said is serious. Its unacceptable. Explaining that an African player is cheaper ... I felt humiliated and hurt.The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) strongly condemned Sagnol, as did former Marseille president Pape Diouf, who called for African players to boycott one round of French league games in protest.French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet, who formerly employed Sagnol as coach of Frances Under-21 side, defended him, while former teammate Lilian Thuram — an active anti-racism campaigner — was more measured.I played alongside Willy, hes somebody I respect. I know him very well, Thuram told Sud Ouest. I dont think you should put Willy Sagnol on trial, but you should put prejudice on trial. Each one of us harbours some prejudice, which is why people working in football, who have a certain exposure to the media, should be educated on this subject.Sagnols captain at Bordeaux is Senegal international Lamine Sane, who called Sagnols comments clumsy before defending him, as did club president Jean-Louis Triaud.He doesnt have any twisted ideas. He believes in all the black players in the team, Sane told French radio. We believe in him and we hope to go very far with him.Bordeaux forward Henri Saivet, who is black, told RMC radio that Sagnol apologized.We all now pertinently well that the coach is not a racist, Saivet said. Its true that, at first, we asked ourselves a few questions. But he explained how it happened. He apologized to the players. That was very important. ' ' '