Daily Times

ABIDJAN: It’s party time in Ivory Coast.

Frank Kessié scored the winning penalty for the host nation to knock out defending champion Senegal from the Africa Cup of Nations last 16 in a penalty shootout on Monday.

It was Kessié´s second successful spot kick of the match after going on as a substitute to equalize for 1-1 in normal time with his 86th-minute penalty in Yamoussoukro.

Senegal defender Moussa Niakhaté missed the titleholder´s third penalty in the shootout, but all five of the home team´s penalty takers scored to win 5-4 and set off joyful celebrations in Charles Konan Banny Stadium and beyond. Players danced on the field and supporters danced in the stands.

Street parties broke out in Abidjan, where car drivers honked their horns and soccer fans danced, cheered and blew loud vuvuzelas. Fans watching the game on large screens in in Treichville, Abidjan screamed, jumped up and down, and hugged each other. Some ran for the sake of running. Some cried tears of joy. Others shook plastic chairs above their heads.

The hosts got off to a bad start when Habib Diallo took Sadio Mané´s speculative cross on his chest and fired the ball inside the top left corner in the fourth minute.

Mané was booked shortly afterward for a studs-up tackle on Ibrahim Sangaré, and TV replays showed he was fortunate to receive just a yellow card.

The Elephants pushed hard for an equalizer with Seko Fofana leading the charge, but the team lacked a Didier Drogba-type striker to really cause problems for the excellent Senegalese defense.

The host got its break when Senegal ´keeper Edouard Mendy conceded a late penalty for missing the ball and bringing down Nicolas Pépé. Referee Pierre Ghislain Atcho initially felt there was no foul but changed his mind after a VAR check. Kessié scored from the spot to keep the Elephants in the tournament.

Ivory Coast barely qualified for the knockout round thanks only to results in other groups. It also fired its coach and tried unsuccessfully to hire another.

Interim coach Emerse Faé, a former Ivory Coast midfielder, got off to a good start. “Given where we come from, conceding this very early goal could have sunk us. My players reacted well,” Faé said.

Faé’s team will next face Mali or Burkina Faso, who play their last 16 match on Tuesday.

Senegal was the only team to win all of its group games and arguably looked like the strongest contender.

“We made the match complicated for ourselves,” Senegal coach Aliou Cissé said. “Disappointed with the result for my players and for our people because we came to win this Africa Cup … It´s a shame that we lost the thread having opened the score. But in victory as in defeat, you have to remain dignified, and I’m proud of my players.”

BLUE SHARKS PROGRESS

Ryan Mendes scored a late penalty for Cape Verde to make the quarterfinals after topping Mauritania 1-0.

Mendes scored from the spot in the 88th minute after Mauritania goalkeeper Babacar Niasse brought down substitute Gilson Benchimol, who was through on goal after a defensive mistake.

It was Mauritania´s first ever Africa Cup game in the knockout stage. The Lions of Chinguetti defeated Algeria 1-0 last week for their first ever win on their third appearance in the tournament.

Cape Verde made a better start but failed to really trouble Niasse.

Roberto “Pico” Lopes marshaled the Blue Sharks´ back four and produced an important tackle to stop Sidi Bouna Amar with Mauritania´s best chance of the first half in the 42nd.

Souleymane Anne had an even better chance midway through the second half, but he was unable to make the most of Sidi Amar´s through ball.

Cape Verde finished strongly as the Mauritanians tired from their exertions. Ibrahima Keita was their second player stretchered off in the 80th after Omaré Gassama in the first half.

Cape Verde surprisingly won a group that included heavyweights Ghana and Egypt. The Blue Sharks, who also reached the quarterfinals in 2013, will next play Morocco or South Africa.