Burkina Faso 1-2 Angola: Palancas Negras defeat Stallions thanks to Manucho cracker
Angola beat Stallions with Manucho cracker
Posted: 2012-01-23 00:07
Angola overcame Burkina Faso 2-1 in their 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Group B encounter in Malabo.
The Palancas Negras took three points from this Group B encounter against the Stallions, with all three goals coming after the break
The match came alive in the second half as Mateus put Angola in the lead, but Alain Traore equalised before Manucho scored the winner.
The Stallions were quick to show their pace in attack, and Jonathan Pitroipa darted forward menacingly, but the Angolan defence were awake and shut him down aggressively.
The Palancas Negras continued to grow in stature, and soon after the half hour mark a smartly taken free kick from Gilberto almost found an unmarked Flavio in attack, but he arrived a second too late and Diakite collected the ball.
In the 41st minute the Stallions created a promising opportunity as an Alain Traore pass sent Pitroipa into the area, but despite causing problems with his dribbling, the determined defence denied Burkina Faso an attempt on goal.
The soundtrack of vuvuzelas and drums provided by the fans in Equatorial Guinea brought the first half to an end, with the score still goalless.
The second half began with a bang for the Palancas Negras in the 48th minute, as a piece of individual skill from Mateus Galiano on the right wing saw him dribble past Paul Koulibaly before unleashing a fierce diagonal strike which beat Diakite and put Angola in the lead.
Angola coach Lito Vidigal looked satisfied, but in the 57th minute Traore removed the smile from his face with a stunning free kick which left Angola keeper Carlos Fernandes flat-footed, levelling the score at 1-1.
That was not the end of the action, however, as Angola punished Burkina Faso for trying to pass the ball out of defence in the 68th minute. Former Manchester United player Manucho won possession, ran wide of his marker and hit an explosive strike from outside the box into the left corner of the goal, making it 2-1 to the Palancas Negras.
In the 81st minute the Stallions had a chance to equalise, but Moumouni Dagano could not direct his header beyond Carlos in goal after a great cross from Charles Kabore. With four minutes remaining Dagano had another chance, but his finish in the area was poor, and the match ended 2-1 for the Palancas Negras.
This result means that Group B is now headed by Angola on three points along with Cote d'Ivoire, following their 1-0 win over Sudan earlier in the day, but with the Palancas Negras having scored more goals. Burkina Faso and Angola need to take on Cote d'Ivoire and Sudan in their remaining Group B matches.
: 2012-01-23 05:52
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