00:00The kicks, the dribbles, the goals, the celebrations, fans rearing, preview and analysis, views
00:06and opinions who only Uncentric Sports have come blades.
00:09Back from the break, I recalls journey to a third African Cup of Nations glory.
00:21It was indeed a fairytale run, the journey of the African champions, the Elephants of
00:26Côte d'Ivoire at the Churks' Concluded Africa Cup of Nations.
00:30Following an embarrassing defeat in front of their own supporters in their final group game
00:34versus Equiteria Guinea, not many would have believed that Agri-Coxt would go on to become
00:39the first Hoax Nation to win Afcon 6 2006 but they did just that against all hearts.
00:47What an incredible achievement for our side that was on the brink of elimination.
00:51The group stage, after losing 4-0 to Equiteria Guinea on January 22nd,
00:56their EVX to Everhobe defeat and the Ivorians parted company with coach Jean-Louis Gisset,
01:02replacing him with MS5. Prior to that, Ivory Cox began their campaign on a very brighter note,
01:07defeating Guinea-Bissau 2-0 in a commanding fashion but went down 0-1 toward the Super Eagles of
01:12Nigeria. With two defeats in the preliminary stage, the Elephants were condemned to an outright
01:17elimination. But the Black Stars of Ghana failure to maintain their 2-0 lead against Mozambique and
01:24Atlas Lions of Morocco's victory over Zambia handed the Oaks a second chance to life in the tournament.
01:30They then began a remarkable turnaround which saw them house holders Senegal on penalties in the
01:36round of 16, beat Mali with a laxed Gatsp goal in extra time in the quarterfinals and edged out
01:43DR Congo with a holler goal in the last four. It was absolutely a new fan believed in turnaround
01:49for the Ivorians. And on the final day, their supporters packed out the stadium to its 60,000
01:56capacity. It's many fans having to watch the game from vantage point of tier ways. Anyone wanted to
02:02dampen the excitement levels but I pointed out that that Cup of Nations Finals tend to be a low-scoring
02:07affairs. There were just then goals scored in the last 11 finals, five of which were decided on penalties
02:14after a 0-0 stalemate. Indeed, Ivorco's four previous final appearances had all ended gollets before
02:21going to penalties, two of which they had won. This final look sets to be another nearly low-scoring
02:27affair with chances few and far between early on. However, the home side then had a great chance on 34th
02:34minutes when Kessier found Ardindra on the left and his shot was turned away by Nigerian goalkeeper
02:40Stanley in Wabeling. That proved crucial as Nigeria went ahead just four minutes later when Ademona
02:45Lukman's corner on the left was touched on and Trus Ekon headed in from the edge of the six-yard
02:51area.
02:52Earlier in the tournament, the Ivorians would have crumbled in such a scenario but they deserved a great
02:57credit for regrouping at the interval and throwing everything at Nigeria. Mas Alingradio's net-bound
03:03shot was blocked in front of the line by Calvin Bassi five minutes after the restart before Mwabele
03:08turned an Odinian Kosono long-range piledriver around the box on 62 minutes. They drew level
03:14from the corner which followed that as Kessier, whose late penalty had rescued the Oaks against
03:19Senegal in the Laxie team, appeared at the back box to head into the net. It seemed inevitable that a
03:24second high recourse to go will follow and it duly did with nine minutes of the 90 to play as
03:30Ola got
03:31its thoughts to the Anjumbia's cross and diverted the ball into the far corner. Behind for the first time,
03:36since their opening match, Nigeria could not react and Ivory Oaks held on for victory. The tournament,
03:42which was delayed from its intended outstaging in July last year because of weather concerns in
03:48West Africa, will live long in the memory after a record number of goals, unrelenting offsets and
03:54apparent capacity for unseason drama. Ivory Cokes to become the 12th Oaks edition to win the nation's
03:59cup title while Nigeria will be left to Rio of 50 defeat in the showpiece and their second in
04:05Harbidjan after losing to Cameroon in 1984. The West Africans had to their previous nation's cup wins
04:12in 1992 and 2015 and became the first tournament Oaks to triumph since Egypt lifted the trophy in 2006.
04:20Interim coach Emma Spieh masterminded Ivory Cokes' passage through the knockout stages which included
04:27dramatic victories over defending champions Senegal and Mali after late equalizer in both games.
04:34Ivory Cokes spent more than $1 billion on Oaks in the tournament. The NFL had to pick up $7 million
04:39in prize money with Nigeria earned $4 million over the competition of Africa football. And guys,
04:45that's how Ivory Cokes' fairytale run ends amazingly with the third African title. It was indeed the
04:50tournament of two halves with one half ending the Strashtros while the other ends in glory.
04:55Thanks again for watching, don't forget to support us with super chat, thanks and join our
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