Tonsils
The home of football sarcasm
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Quick round up of last of the ACN Quarter Finals and Semi Preview
Gabon 1-1 Mali (Mali won 5-4 on penalties)
Shock. Thought Gabon would get there but no, horrible penalties and wasted chances saw the co-hosts crash out. Well played to Mali, go into the Semi on Wednesday looking confident (and maybe a bit tired)
Ghana 2-1 Tunisia (after Extra Time)
Ghana have never lost to Tunisia in the ACN and still that remains after a tense battle on Sunday evening which saw Ghana edge in late into extra time.
So the Semi Finals are Zambia vs Ghana (Ghana for me) & Mali vs Ivory Coast (Coast to win). Plus, ladies and gents, you can still buy tickets for the final as it has yet to sell out. Shame, as this has been a top tournament so far
Shock. Thought Gabon would get there but no, horrible penalties and wasted chances saw the co-hosts crash out. Well played to Mali, go into the Semi on Wednesday looking confident (and maybe a bit tired)
Ghana 2-1 Tunisia (after Extra Time)
Ghana have never lost to Tunisia in the ACN and still that remains after a tense battle on Sunday evening which saw Ghana edge in late into extra time.
So the Semi Finals are Zambia vs Ghana (Ghana for me) & Mali vs Ivory Coast (Coast to win). Plus, ladies and gents, you can still buy tickets for the final as it has yet to sell out. Shame, as this has been a top tournament so far
Vague round-up #5
Man it was cold. Maybe it's time to think about having a break for winter.
And some daft, lanky, self-opinionated tosser slapped someone.
And some daft, lanky, self-opinionated tosser slapped someone.
Sunday, 5 February 2012
ACN: Quarter Final Day 1; Yaya Toure- 'Rocket Man'
As the UK ground to a halt over a few flakes of snow. the African Cup Of Nations has reached fever pitch as the tournament reached the quarter final stage. The first game on Saturday looked a tasty opening course to this 4 course meal with Zambia taking on Sudan.
The game really kicked into gear after 15 minutes when Zambia took the lead with a goal from Stoppila Sunzu heading in a goal with little marking from the Sudanese it was an easy opener.
However Sudan kept on the pressure but couldn't get an equaliser before half time and it remained 1-0 to Zambia. 20 minutes into the second half and Sudan were dealt a huge blow, Ali Idris was sent off for a foul in the area which gave a penalty to Zambia. Christopher Katongo took the penalty but the first attempt was saved but he slotted in the the second attempt. It was all uphill for Sudan now. Their misery was compounded with a few minutes left when James Chamanga sealed a 3-0 win for Zambia.
Harsh on Sudan was this result as they do seem to have improved as the tournament has gone on but they will learn a lot from this years tournament.
The second course on Saturday was Ivory Coast taking on co-hosts Equatorial Guinea. Could they be the first side to score a goal against the 'Elephants' in this tournament?
A first half which saw plenty of possession and attack from the 'Coast saw them win a penalty after half an hour after Drogba was fouled however his penalty was saved and the home fans went ballistic. Their Joy was soon to be short lived as Drogba made up for his penalty miss with a shot drilled in to take the lead
10minutes before half time. The hosts needed to do something which no one else so far had, score!
Midway through the second half and the tie was effectively over, a powerful free kick by Yaya Toure was headed in by Drogba, a fantastic effort. However that a thumping 3-0 was guaranteed when Yaya Toure hit a 30 yard thunderbolt free kick into the top right of the net. Stunning strike which has to be my favourite goal so far of the tournament.
Zambia and the Ivory Coast through, who will join them in the final four?!
The game really kicked into gear after 15 minutes when Zambia took the lead with a goal from Stoppila Sunzu heading in a goal with little marking from the Sudanese it was an easy opener.
However Sudan kept on the pressure but couldn't get an equaliser before half time and it remained 1-0 to Zambia. 20 minutes into the second half and Sudan were dealt a huge blow, Ali Idris was sent off for a foul in the area which gave a penalty to Zambia. Christopher Katongo took the penalty but the first attempt was saved but he slotted in the the second attempt. It was all uphill for Sudan now. Their misery was compounded with a few minutes left when James Chamanga sealed a 3-0 win for Zambia.
Harsh on Sudan was this result as they do seem to have improved as the tournament has gone on but they will learn a lot from this years tournament.
The second course on Saturday was Ivory Coast taking on co-hosts Equatorial Guinea. Could they be the first side to score a goal against the 'Elephants' in this tournament?
A first half which saw plenty of possession and attack from the 'Coast saw them win a penalty after half an hour after Drogba was fouled however his penalty was saved and the home fans went ballistic. Their Joy was soon to be short lived as Drogba made up for his penalty miss with a shot drilled in to take the lead
10minutes before half time. The hosts needed to do something which no one else so far had, score!
Midway through the second half and the tie was effectively over, a powerful free kick by Yaya Toure was headed in by Drogba, a fantastic effort. However that a thumping 3-0 was guaranteed when Yaya Toure hit a 30 yard thunderbolt free kick into the top right of the net. Stunning strike which has to be my favourite goal so far of the tournament.
Zambia and the Ivory Coast through, who will join them in the final four?!
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Friday, 3 February 2012
Goalkeepers yelling at defenders #14
Jérémie Janot
The man who also brought you this team photo and this advice on how to keep warm. And has a bad tattoo on the back of his head. And is a borderline certifiable loony.
The man who also brought you this team photo and this advice on how to keep warm. And has a bad tattoo on the back of his head. And is a borderline certifiable loony.
Groups C & D finale day action from the ACN and a Quarter Final preview
Here is a quick, late catch-up with the final day's action from group C and D. Group Cwent into the final games with everything all tied up with Gabon and Tunisia already qualified for the quarter finals and these two met in their final game whilst the other game saw Niger and Morocco lockhorns. It ended up with Gabon beating Tunisia 1-0 and Morocco rescuing some pride from an otherwise awful tournament by beating Niger 1-0. Big shock for me with the co-hosts qualifying from this
group but they have deserved it with some fantastic football. As for Morocco, less said the better.
The Group D finale saw a potential classic situation where the final group games would sort everything out. Ghana were top but were taking on Guinea who could still qualify and Mali faced Botswana knowing a win was vital. The end result saw Ghana draw 1-1 with Guinea and Mali beat Botswana 2-1 to see Mali qualify with Ghana for the knockout stages.
So the quarter finals look fascinating with two games on Saturday as Zambia play Sudan (Come on Sudan!) and Ivory Coast facing the co-hosts Equatorial Guinea (heart says the co-hosts but head says Coast). On Sunday the other two fixtures commence with Gabon taking on Mali
(Gabon.....extra time) and a potential decider for the winners of the tournament in my opinion, Ghana squaring up to Tunisia (Ghana for me)
Let the fun begin.....
ADDENDUM:
It's worth having a look at the predictions in the group-by-group previews. In Group A, we said Senegal and Zambia - Zambia and Equatorial Guinea prevailed. In group B, we went for Ivory Coast (got that one right) and Angola (wrong - Sudan). Group C saw us go for Morocco and Tunisia. Sub Gabon for Morocco and we're there. And in Group D, we got them both right, and in the right order, as Ivory Coast and Mali progress. Five out of eight quarter-finalists. Not bad.
group but they have deserved it with some fantastic football. As for Morocco, less said the better.
The Group D finale saw a potential classic situation where the final group games would sort everything out. Ghana were top but were taking on Guinea who could still qualify and Mali faced Botswana knowing a win was vital. The end result saw Ghana draw 1-1 with Guinea and Mali beat Botswana 2-1 to see Mali qualify with Ghana for the knockout stages.
So the quarter finals look fascinating with two games on Saturday as Zambia play Sudan (Come on Sudan!) and Ivory Coast facing the co-hosts Equatorial Guinea (heart says the co-hosts but head says Coast). On Sunday the other two fixtures commence with Gabon taking on Mali
(Gabon.....extra time) and a potential decider for the winners of the tournament in my opinion, Ghana squaring up to Tunisia (Ghana for me)
Let the fun begin.....
ADDENDUM:
It's worth having a look at the predictions in the group-by-group previews. In Group A, we said Senegal and Zambia - Zambia and Equatorial Guinea prevailed. In group B, we went for Ivory Coast (got that one right) and Angola (wrong - Sudan). Group C saw us go for Morocco and Tunisia. Sub Gabon for Morocco and we're there. And in Group D, we got them both right, and in the right order, as Ivory Coast and Mali progress. Five out of eight quarter-finalists. Not bad.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
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