| Goals | Goals |
|---|---|
| 11. Dipsy Selolwane (23’) | 9. Sadio Diallo (15’) |
| 9. Sadio Diallo (27’) | |
| 7. Abdoul Camara (42’) | |
| 8. Ibrahima Traoré (45 + 4’) | |
| 4. Mamadou Bah (84’) | |
| 14. Naby Soumah (86’) |
Botswana hit for six
Ibrahima Traore of Guinea (8) being carried up high by teammates after he scored the fourth goal
After losing their opening Group D match 1-0 to Mali, Syli Nacional needed to win this match in order to revive their hopes of a last eight place, and they duly racked up a record-equalling victory against debutants Botswana.
After a relatively quiet start to the game, Guinea surged ahead on the quarter hour mark when Sadio Diallo got ahead of his marker in the penalty area to turn home a low cross from Abdoul Camara.
Yet Syli Nacional’s lead last just eight minutes, as Dipsy Selolwane converted a penalty midway through the half to make it 1-1. Guinea goalkeeper Naby Yattara was guilty of giving away the spot kick, tripping Jerome Ramatlhakwana in the box.
Initially Yattara seemed to have redeemed himself when he kept out Selolwane’s spot kick, but referee Bouchaib El Ahrach ordered a retake. The Botswana midfielder made no mistake at the second time of asking.
It didn’t take long for the West Africans to move back into the lead, and again it was a low cross from Camara turned home by Diallo to make it 2-1 in the 27th minute.
Approaching half time Syli Nacional made it 3-1, with Camara firing home from a tight angle after Botswana’s defence was caught cold by a quickly-taken free kick.
It soon went from bad to worse for the Zebras in injury time at the end of the first half. Substitute Patrick Motsepe (on for the injured Ofentse Nato) chopped down Pascal Feindouno just outside the penalty area with a studs-up challenge and was shown a red card.
Ibrahima Traore stepped up to take the free kick and beat goalkeeper Modiri Marumo’s right hand, with the ball hitting the inside of the post on its way into the back of the net. The goal left Guinea 4-1 up at the break.
The second half was a lot more subdued than the first, though Guinea did have one controversial incident where Feindouno’s long range effort crashed down off the underside of the crossbar and bounced away from the goal mouth.
TV replays showed that the ball had crossed the line, though of course it was of little consequence, such was the West Africans’ dominance of the match.
Syli Nacional added to their advantage in the dying minutes through a deflected long range shot from Mamadou Bah in the 84th minute and a fine finish from substitute Naby Soumah in the 86th.
The only worry for Guinea was the form of lead striker Ismael Bangoura, who spurned several good chances to get his name on the score sheet. They will hope he finds his scoring boots in their final group game against Ghana.
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