Tapsoba and Burkina Faso claim late win in AFCON opener
The buoyant atmosphere at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké went into overdrive on Tuesday evening as Burkina Faso snatched a late winner from the penalty spot to start their AFCON tournament off with a 1-0 win over Mauritania.
Plenty of Burkinabé supporters made the trek to neighboring Cote d'Ivoire on Tuesday evening to cheer their nation on in their AFCON opener. The traveling supporters were given something to cheer about when Burkina Faso snatched a late-winner to start their tournament off with a 1-0 win over Mauritania. The West African Stallions - who already enjoy a great deal of support within the German Bundesrepublik - also delivered a win for their very popular Bundesliga representative Edmond Tapsoba.
The Burkinabé's have never captured an Africa continental championship despite making the semi-finals in three of the last five competitions. Hubert Velud's West Africans initially weren't looking terribly good against the Saharan underdogs. The two teams effectively equalized one another in the first half, with Mauritania even gaining the better scoring chances via dead balls. Velub's men even had to rely upon Hervé Koffi several times to avoid falling behind in the second 45.
The matched appeared destined to end in a 0-0 draw; somewhat fortuitously for the uninspiring favorites. Manchester City defender Issa Kaboré nevertheless drew a penalty three minutes into injury time. Burkinabé national team legend Bertrand Traoré himself strode to the spot to take the kick, converting the 1-0 at 90+6 and sending ripples of joy through the many sections of Stallion support in the stratum. Traoré - whose club career has been hindered by injuries - has represented his country since 2011.
Leverkusen's Tapsoba played the entire match, racking up 63 touches and playing 53 passes. He went on one impressive long dribble of his own in the first-half. Not necessarily challenged much in direct duels, the 24-year old did win nearly all of his challenges on the ground and in the air. There was one flagrantly blow mark on a Mauritanian free-kick in the opening 45. Tapsoba's team rise to the top of their group (Group D) following Algeria's draw with Angola yesterday.