African Cup of Nations: Libya 2 - 2 Zambia
Having been beaten 1-0 in their opening game to group winners and conquerors of Senegal Equatorial Guinea, Libya now sit on the brink of elimination after Zambia snatched a draw on a water-logged pitch in a game that kicked off an hour and fifteen minutes late thanks to torrential rain. Unsurprisingly, Zambian coach Herve Renard endured with the same team which overcame Senegal in the opening group game 2-1, while his Libyan counterpart Marcos Paqueta made two changes to the team which lost to Equatorial Guinea, bringing Muhammad al-Maghrabi and Abubakr al-Abaidy in. Despite an almost unplayable pitch (which shouldn't have been given the approval of referee Koman Coulibaly), Libya came out strongly, scoring the first goal of the day when Ahmed Saad Osman ran onto a Walid Elkhatroushi's excellent through ball and finished into the corner to Zambian goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene's left. The conditions played a massive part in the game, throwing game plans out of the window, especially for the Zambians, whose impressive passing approach that did them so well in the Senegal game was never an option, though the Libyan first goal sparked them into life, creating a number of chances heading towards half-time that ultimately went unconverted. But then, just after the 30th minute mark, Emmanuel Mayuka scored his second of the tournament to bring the scores level, with a great right foot volley at the far post from Rainford Kalaba's floated cross into Samir Abod's goal. Another fine goal from Mayuka, who has quickly made a big impression, and will surely be attracting some more top-flight European interest after the competition ends. Half-time brought a welcome respite from the conditions in what had been a far more entertaining game than the weather should have allowed - both teams coping quite well not to be too bogged down in the quagmire. The second-half started at an even more frenetic pace than the first, with the Libyans this time needing only two minutes to get their noses back in front; Ahmed Saad Osman collecting substitute Ihab Albusaifi's pass, evading Zambia's defence, and shooting well past Kennedy Mweene to make it 2-1. With the crowd just about settling back in their seats, another moment of magic from Mayuka gave Christopher Katongo the chance to get his team back on level terms almost immediately - Mayuka further showing off his acrobatic skills to send a wonderful overhead kick onto Katongo's head, who scored from close up. Game on. With stalemate on the cards, but plenty of time remaining on the clock, neither team looked happy to accept a draw, with chances at both ends, notably for Osman of Libya and Katongo, as well as his brother Felix for Zambia. But ultimately, the game ended a draw, with Zambia heading into second int he group behind Senegal's conquerors Equatorial Guinea, and Libya holding onto the hope that they can beat the Senegalese and the group winners again triumph over Zambia by more than 2 goals.