Teranga Lions buckle under two slaps in wet Bata Stadium

Pulse

By ROBIN TOSKIN in LIBREVILLE

"Cruel fate for the "Lions" without teeth: Two slaps and then back home" Senegal’s Walf Faridji newspaper wailed.

The Teranga Lions dressing room was like a Cathedral and just across in the Nzalang National lockers, song and dance was deafening.

The probable to the neutrals had happened. Equatorial Guinea had ejected pundits’ favourites from the 28th edition of the Africa Nations Cup.

Was it payback time? Was it the gods of football just giving Senegal a dose of its own medicine, that which they served France in the 2002 World Cup?

That can be banter for the pub fan. But the unforgiving Africa Nations Cup has already lost one of the favourite teams.

The result only confirmed Asamoah Gyan’s assertion that there are more shock results under way.

Nothing, however, should be taken away from the Equatorial Guinea side that played with courage.

David Alvarez’s thunderbolt of a winner or Iban Iyanga’s header underlined the fear most favourites teams have had of the so-called small teams. Senegal, however, may well be paying for their lack of creative midfielders. The Lions of Teranga’s production line seems to have overproduced embarrassing riches of strikers.

Demba Ba, English Premier League’s second top scorer after Robin Van Persie, had to be hauled off the pitch as coach Amara Traore sought for a response to a gallant Equatorial Guinea team.

Demba Papiss Cisse, who just signed for Newcastle after a glittering career with Bundesliga side Freiburg, and Moussa Sow who is on the verge of a move to Turkey’s Fernebahce after top scoring exploit in France with Lille, could not come to the rescue of Senegal.

FC Copenhagen’s Dame N’Doye was voted Denmark’s best player in the just concluded season yet all of the star forwards could not win the matches for Senegal.

The midfield trio of Isiar Dia, Guiranne N’Daw and Mohamed Diame all lack the creativity, stamina and grit of their 2002 World Cup heroes as Khalilou Fadiga, Papa Bouba Diop, Moussa N’Diaye and Salif Diao.

Goalkeeper Tony Silva may not have been as good as Cheick Seck, but he was always shielded by a good defence featuring such players as Aliou Cisse, Omar Daf, Ferdinand Coly and Lamine Diatta.

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