| AFCON 2013 Qualifier: Libya Lose to Last-Gasp Goal Against Algeria 09/09/2012 21:50:00 | ||
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| Algeria players celebrate their slender goal victory over Libya By Bara Taufik Libya 0 Algeria 1 (Soudani 88’) El Arbi Hillel Soudani’s late strike gifted Algeria the advantage in the first leg of the final round of qualifiers for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, and all but ended Libya’s hopes of reaching the competition for a second consecutive occasion, after a tense and closely-fought encounter at Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca. The match was played in neighbouring Morocco due to ongoing concerns over the safety and security in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, with the last match hosted at the national stadium almost 2 years ago (a 1-0 win over Zambia). Libya’s national team’s stock has risen greatly over the last 18 months or so, with the new FIFA World Rankings placing them 36th, their highest ever position. However, they faced tough opponents in Algeria, against whom they have a very poor international record; the Desert Foxes had won the previous five meetings between the two. The visiting coach, Bosnian Vahid Halihodzic, guarded his team against complacency and asked his players to give a solid performance to give Algeria a good chance of qualifying. Coach Abdulhafeedh Arbeesh could only assemble his players 10 days or so prior to the game for a training camp in Morocco. Though the game promised to be open, with both sides favouring attack-minded football based on a fluid passing style, the game started slowly, with Algeria dominating possession. The first half, however, will be marked by the two clear-cut chances that the ‘home’ side failed to put away, both within the space of a minute or so. The first fell to defender Hamed al Snoussi, the match-winning hero against Cameroon, who couldn’t turn Muhammad al Sanaani’s cross past Rais M’Bolhi. Just seconds later, Faisal al Badri’s ball in behind fell to Ahmed Zuway, who, despite defender Essaid Belkalem’s slip, could not control the ball. Two minutes after the break, al Badri’s free kick went narrowly over the crossbar with M’Bolhi seemingly beaten. Algeria, with several European stars in their ranks, notably Valencia’s creative midfielder Sofiane Feghouli, struggled to create chances, but were patient in their build-up play and found many gaps in behind Libya’s defence, exposed by willing runners Islam Slimani and Foued Kadir. The visitors continued to threaten and went close when left-back Djamel Mesbah’s blistering shot from range was tipped over by Muhammad Nashnoush, who was in fine form. However, Libya’s 3-5-2 formation was eventually exposed with two minutes to go, a long ball over the top found Slimani, whose clever footwork fooled Ali Salama. The forward was able to find substitute El Arbi Hillel Soudani, who took a touch before stroking a left-foot shot beyond Nashnoush into the bottom-left hand corner of the net. An air of tension hung over the stadium from kick-off, and this late goal saw things spill over on the pitch. Libya’s full back Abdulaziz Belreesh was very fortunate to avoid red after a reckless lunge from behind on Feghouli. There were ugly scenes at the end of the game as players and officials from both sides got involved in some pushing and shoving which will only add to the tension in the return. The fallout is that Algeria are now in a very strong position to qualify for the Cup of Nations, to be hosted by South Africa in the new year. The away goal means Libya need to win in Blida on October 12; with Libya’s form on the road indifferent at best and Algeria’s home record strong, it will be a tall order for Abdulhafeedh Arbeesh’s men to emerge with a berth in the Nations Cup. In Other Matches As expected, Ivory Coast left no doubt as to their superiority in African football at the moment as they defeated Senegal 4-2 in their home match, but they had to come from behind twice to win as the came lived up to its match-of-the-day billing. Spectacular goals from Dame Ndoye and Papiss Cisse gave Senegal the lead in each half only for Salomon Kalou and Gervinho to snatch equalisers before Didier Drogba and Max Gradel scored for the Ivorians. Cameroon’s dismal run continued after a shock 2-10 away defeat at Cape Verde. Sudan beat Ethiopia 5-3 for the the biggest victory . African champions Zambia captain Chris Katongo scored the only goal as the Chipolopolo sealed a 1-0 victory over the Cranes of Uganda in Ndola. Ghana scored early in each half to triumph 2-0 against Malawi in Accra. The Sierra Leone v Tunisia tie ended in a 2-2 draw Tunisia levelleing the score two minutes from time. FULL RESULTS LIBYA v ALGERIA 0-1 Cape Verde v Cameroon 2-0 CAF v Burkina Faso 1-0 Gabon v Togo 1-1 Ghana v Malawi 2-0 Ivory Coast v Senegal 4-2 Liberia v Nigeria 2-2 Mali v Botswana 3-0 Sierra Leone v Tunisia 2-2 Sudan v Ethiopia 5-3 Zamba v Uganda 1-0 DR Congo v Eq. Guinea 4-0 Guinea v Niger 1-0 Mozambique v Morocco 2-0 Zimbabwe v Angola 3-1 *The teams meet again in October and the aggregate winners of the second round fixture advance to the finals of in South Africa | ||
AFCON 2013 Qualifier: Libya Lose to Last-Gasp Goal Against Algeria
**Amin Ahmed** is a Libyan journalist and contributor at TripoliPost, reporting on current affairs, business, and regional developments. With a keen eye for detail and a dedication to fair, balanced journalism, he delivers stories that keep readers informed about Libya and the world beyond its borders. He can be reached at amin.ahmed@tripolipost.com
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