By James Robert Kayindi
The Leopards of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will be without their captain Youssouf Mulumbu when they face off with the Elephants of Ivory Coast today in the first game of the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals that is ongoing in Equatorial Guinea. The Congolese will also be missing their defender Gabriel Zakuani after spraining his ankle.
Meanwhile, the Elephants’ anchor-man Ismail Cheick Tiote is also a big doubt for the tie due to an ankle injury but will have a late fitness test as they turn their guns to a seemingly formidable Congolese side who thumped their cousins of Congo Brazzaville in the quarter finals when they came down from two goals in the second half to win the encounter 4-2.
Both sides will rely on their striking lines to get the job done as they fight for a slot in the finals. Congolese Dieumeric Mbokani who scored a brace against Congo will be the man to bring tension in the Ivorians’ defence while Wilfred Bonny who also netted a brace in the Elephants’ 3-1 win against Algeria in the quarter finals will be man to cause trouble for the Leopards’ defence alongside Gervinho who also scored a late winner against the Desert foxes. These will be accompanied by an in-form Max Gradel.
“If you give Bony good service, you can see he is a fantastic striker. My problem is I’ve got so many good attackers and they all believe they should be playing, it’s hard to explain why I’ve left some of them out,” Coach Herve Renard remarked.
The last meeting between the two sides was in October in Abidjan during the qualification campaign which DRC managed to win 4-3. The two sides had previously met in 2002 and Congo won the encounter 3-1 to qualify for the quarter finals.
Meanwhile the semifinals will continue tomorrow when hosts Equatorial Guinea take on an experienced Ghana side.
Email Robert: Robert.k.circles@gmail.com
