Stade de l’Amitie, Gabon
Gabon (0)1
Aubameyang 53
Guinea-Bissau (0)1
J. Soares 90+1
LIBREVILLE – An unlikely source, the announcer, started the party here almost an hour late before the expected star, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, produced the music that saw Gabon dance their blues away.
But Juary Soares crashed that party to ensure that debutants Guinea-Bissau are the ones who will sleep on Saturday night celebrating the opening of this Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
The Panthers were booed off the pitch, adding to their miseries after they were frustrated by the stubborn Guinea-Bissau defence that refused to budge. The Panthers needed something special to unlock that defence.
Mr Party, Aubameyang, couldn’t come up with that inspiration as he was caged by the Wild Dogs. Even though that attention created space for Malick Evouna and Denis Bouanga, the pair failed to capitalise on it.
If Evouna wasn’t tripping over himself in front of the box, Bouanga’s poor decision-making was hurting the Panthers.
The announcer took the microphone and drummed up support as this venue was in a lull after a boring first half. As he did that, in a now-almost full stadium, he made the home fans find their voices.
Aubameyang made them raise those voices even louder when he tapped in Bouanga’s cross. That goal gave the Gabon people something to cheer for, as the build-up to this tournament was fuelled by political tension.
A large blue carpet covered the brown track that circles the pitch here, just like Gabon’s government put a lid on the planned boycott of this cash-strapped nation hosting the Afcon.
A heavy security and military presence hovered around this venue in anticipation of those who planned to protest against the government for flashing millions to build stadiums after they cut down spending on health and education.
The disputed elections that Ali Bongo Ondimba vows he won in August last year, while the opposition says otherwise, lit the spark that fired the Gabonese to express their dissatisfaction.
That strong security presence forced fans to trickle into this venue because they had to go through two security check-points. Once they made their way past them, especially when this match had just started, they dashed inside.
If they knew what they were running towards, they would have taken their time because what awaited them was a dismal half of football where neither goalkeeper was tested in the first 45 minutes.
The halftime entertainment, which felt like the continuation of the concert-tinged opening ceremony, woke the fans from their slumber. They stayed awake since then. Aubameyang’s goal saw the crowd even dish out several Mexican waves. The band that was silent on the stands started beating their drums loudly.
But all of that noise died down after Soares stunned the hosts in optional time, giving coach Jose Antonio Camacho more headaches. The Spaniard had watched in frustration as his side failed to punish the minnows.
Gabon trembled at the sight of Guinea-Bissau’s counter-attacks, even though the experienced Didier Ovono was hardly troubled in goals. Against a better team, Ovono would have worked overtime.
The goalkeeper's biggest responsibility was to take the ball out of the net after Soares crashed the party that had already started even before Egyptian referee Ghead Grisha blew the final whistle.
* Njabulo Ngidi is in Gabon courtesy of Supersport