Niger and DR
Congo ended
their second
group match in a
goalless draw at
the Nelson Mandela Bay
Stadium in Port
Elizabeth on
Thursday, with
the west Africans picking up their first point in the
finals of an Africa Cup of Nations. Both teams were meeting each
other for the first time in their
history. Niger coach Gernot Rohr
retained the squad that lost 1-0
to Mali on Sunday during their
opener. The first goal chance of the game
fell to the Mena just five minutes
from kickoff when Modibo Sidibe
was set up on the right side of
the DR Congo area, but the free
agent, after side stepping goalkeeper Muteba Kidiaba,
missed his target after a low
effort to the far right of the
second post. Anderlecht's Dieumerci Mbokani
was at the head of the
Leopards' attack, with TP
Mazembe's Tresor Mputu and
Lomana LuaLua providing clever
assists that remained fruitless in front of the Niger goal, thanks to
Kourouma Fatogoma of Moroccan
side Chabab and home-based
Issiakou Koudize, who were toiling
to keep their goal safe from
attacks. Mbokani surged into the Niger
box after perfectly controlling a
ball with the chest, but floated
his effort into the gloves of
Daouda Kassali, missing a good
chance to put his side ahead in the 12th minute. The west Africans were putting
up a terrific fight against the
Congolese – a sharp contrast to
their showing against Mali on
Sunday – but kept failing to
deliver a convincing finish, as the Congolese were futile in exploiting
the gaps left by their opponents,
which generally presented a very
balanced team. An interplay between Congolese
duo Lualua and Mbokani near the
box could have beaten Kassali at
the post but a last-ditch
interception by Koudize thwarted
the beautiful effort. By the 40th minute, the Leopards
were still slightly ahead in ball
possession but lacking solutions to
break the deadlock and coach
Claude Le Roy was exhibiting his
anxiety on the touchline. Mbokani had another clear cut
chance to score again Niger when
a long ball from the right flank
released him to the left edge of
the Mena box unmarked, but he
once again crashed his effort against the keeper Daouda Kassali
and slumped down to rue his third
slip of the meeting as the referee
put an end to the first half. Niger returned from the break
still in a combative mood, with
captain Moussa Maazou finding
himself in the Leopards box a
couple of times and forcing two
breathtaking saves from Kidiaba, while hitting his third close-range
effort over the bar. Alain Kaluyituka replaced Patou
Kabangu and Zola Matumona,
Tresor Mputu for the DR Congo,
as Le Roy continued the search
for the rightful solution to
surmount the Nigerien hurdle. The Mena maintained their
ascendancy in the second half,
with Modibo and Maazou on
target upfront as the Leopards
turned gradually nervous being
unable to break the stalemate. Kasusula Kiritsho saved his side
from a nasty goal in the last
quarter when he stopped
Maazou's lightning penetration
into the box as both sides
seemed to have settled for a goalless fate near the end of the
clash when efforts from the
teams were losing intensity and
inspiration. Boubacar Talatou connected a
cross from the right and strolled
into DR Congo midfield before
laying a ball for Issoufou Dante,
who fired towards Kadiaba, but
the Mazembe veteran palmed away to avoid a late goal. The score stood at 0-0 by the
end of the whistle, handing Niger
their first ever point in an Africa
Cup of Nations finals, and leaving
DR Congo on two. Ghana top the
group with four points, while Mali have three.