Ivorian goalkeeper Boubacar Barry was the hero of the night as he scored the crucial penalty of a dramatic finale as Ivory Coast won the Africa Cup of Nations.
The penalty shootout went down to keepers after all the outfield players had taken one. Barry who seemed to be struggling from cramp, saved a penalty from opposite number Razak Brimah before slotting in what was the deciding kick.
Ivory Coast have won the tournament twice and Ghana have been on the losing side of both occasions. It almost happened in similar fashion of 1982 where Ivory Coast won on penalties 11-10 after a goalless draw.
History repeated itself this time round and again they beat Ghana on penalty shootouts (9-8) after a goalless draw.
The Ivorian side lost the finals in 2006 to Egypt and in 2012 to Zambia, whose were managed by Herve Renard, Ivory Coast’s current manager.
Renard is now the only man to win the Africa Cup of Nations with two different countries in the history of the tournament.
Ghanaian coach Avram Grant has also been on the losing end of two finals on shootouts: he lost to Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League final in 2008 with Chelsea too. Here in Equatorial Guinea it was to be the same story for the Israeli as he lost again on penalties.
All seemed so bright for the Black Stars of Ghana when Ivory Coast missed their first two spot kicks, Wilfried Bony and Junior Tallo being the guilty men.
Barry was up to the task and saved Afriyie Acquah’s penalty before Frank Acheampong curled his penalty wide to put the sides level once again.
All the outfield players had their turn for the spot kicks and it was still all tied so the world turned to goalkeepers. Barry saved Briamh’s penalty and kept his composure and cool to slot in the championship winning penalty.
Ghana was the better of the two side in the game and a defeat seems unfair. They came close couple of times, hitting the frame of the goal twice.
Christian Atsu hit the woodwork with a sweet left foot curler from 25 yards. Andre Ayew also hit the outside of the post from almost an impossible angle.
In what was a tactical game, both teams cancelled out each other out and no one risked too much for the killer goal.
It was not the kind night for the big name players to make their names once more. Yaya Toure, Asamoah Gyan, Bony and Ayew all could not produce their magic on a night that saw a real tactical battle.
Did the best team really win the tournament? You saw what I saw, you answer that.
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