The opening game of the African Cup of Nations saw the hosts, Egypt, take on fellow North African rivals Libya. The Pharaohs have won the Nations Cup title four times - an achievement matched only by Ghana’s Black Stars, and Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions.

Egypt took the game straight to the Libyans, with their attacking prowess far more in evidence, and at no time looking under threat from the visitors, and took little time in opening the scoring

Tottenham Hotspur striker Mido, scored Egypt’s first goal in the 17th minute with a lovely downwards header from a corner, and just 5 minutes later Mohamed Aboutrika scored the hosts second goal from a beautifully taken free-kick that left the Libyan keeper stranded.

The Libyans further compounded their troubles when their goalkeeper Luis de Agustini was sent off for pulling down Al Shabani in the penalty area. The resulting penalty was taken by Mido, who’s shot was saved by the substitute keeper Muftah Ghzalla, but a goal was scored on the follow-up by Ahmed Hassan, who throughout the match constantly troubled the Libyan defence with his pace.

Libya’s Al Shabani came closest for the visitors, but missed badly, and then had a howler of a match by conceding a silly free kick that led to the second goal, and almost scored a stunning own goal to cap off a forgettable performance for the defender.

Libya, who surprisingly had never been beaten in an African Cup of Nations match prior to this meeting will have to lift their game if they want to progress to the knockout stages of the cup.

Bookmark/Search this post with:

delicious | digg | google | yahoo | technorati