However, if you were waiting until tomorrow and onward to see the likes of Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o in action for their respective nations at the 2010 African Cup of Nations, you missed on out on one amazing match that shouldn’t have been in today’s tournament opener between host country Angola and Mali.
It was supposed to be a glorious start for the hosts, and for the first 70-odd minutes, it was.
Two Flavio Arnado goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half gave Angola a 2-0 lead at the break, and second-half penalties by Gilberto and Manucho had Angola rolling with a little over a quarter of an hour left.
Game over, right? I was following along with the match on ESPN Soccernet’s live score tracker, and I thought it was well and truly over when Angola scored the fourth goal.
Tell that to Mali. Minutes after scoring what should’ve been the capper on an tournament-opening rout, Angola’s keeper made an absolute mess of what should’ve been an easily-handled corner kick, and Seydou Keita pounced to tap it in to make it 4-1 with a little more than 10 minutes of normal time to go.
Still over, right? It certainly looked that way as the clocked ticked down to the final few minutes with the scoreline still at 4-1, but Mali got a further ray of hope with Frederic Kanoute’s header in the 88th minute.
Even at 4-2, Angola should have been able to wrap the win up, but alas, they had given Mali an inch, and that’s all they needed.
Fast forward to the first minute of injury time. A mistimed jump on an attempted clearance of a cross allows the ball to an unmarked Keita, who slots it home from close range to make it 4-3.
Still, all Angola had to do was to hold on for a few minutes and they’d escape with a win that was a lot closer than it should have been. Unfortunately, momentum was all on Mali’s side, and in the dying moments, the unthinkable comeback was completed, thanks to Mustapha Yatabare being Mr. Right Place, Right Time and driving home a rebound from a tight angle.
If you happened to watch the match live, I imagine you’re still trying to get your jaw back into place. I had stopped paying attention to the score tracker when it was 4-1 Angola, and when I looked at it again after the match was over and saw a 4-4 scoreline, I had to do a double, triple, and quadruple take.
Disappointing result for Angola and their fans, especially considering that they’re the first host since, oddly enough, Mali (in 2002) to not win their opening match.
For anyone else out there, it’s as good a lesson as there is to never give up, no matter how much the odds seem to be stacked against you. Of course, it doesn’t hurt when there’s a little assistance (like a friendly, ball-spilling goalkeeper or Lady Luck, perhaps), but I digress.
Below are the highlights of the thrilling draw in Luanda:
Now, back to your regularly scheduled American sports coverage.
