Junior breaks draw deadlock

– Junior Kabananga scored to give the Democratic Republic of Congo an upset 1-0 win over Morocco yesterday in an Africa Cup of Nations Group C match in Gabonese town Oyem.

Victory took the Congolese Leopards to the top of the table after defending champions the Ivory Coast were held 0-0 by Togo in the first half of a double-header.

Kazakhstan-based midfielder Kabananga pounced on a mistake by goalkeeper Munir Mohamedi to score from close range 10 minutes into the second half.

Earlier, Ivory Coast made a disappointing start to their title defence when held by lowest Group C seeds Togo.

Paris Saint-Germain defender Serge Aurier came close to breaking the deadlock with two minutes remaining, heading a cross narrowly wide in a match that failed to sparkle.

The result maintained a trend of stalemates in the 2017 tournament with four of the first five matches failing to produce a winner.

“It is not the start that we would have liked,” admitted Ivory Coast coach Michel Dussuyer, who succeeded French Ligue 1-bound Herve Renard after the 2015 triumph.

Togo coach Claude le Roy was satisfied with a point as he began his ninth Cup of Nations having failed to reach the knockout phase in only one previous tournament.

“I feel we had a good match. Hats off to my players. We qualified at the last second in a country where there has not been a championship for the past three years.

The Ivorian starting line-up included two English Premier League footballers, Manchester United defender Eric Bailly and Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.

Abidjan-born Zaha was making his first competitive debut for the Elephants having switched international allegiance after two friendly appearances for adopted country England.

Togo were captained by striker Emmanuel Adebayor (below), now clubless after spells with Premier League outfits Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace. – AFP