Central Africa jubilated on friday night as DR Congo rolled into the semi finals of the AFCON, following a 3-1 win over Guinea.
DR Congo made came into that quarter final yet to win any game in the competition. The Central Africans drew all their group games and also needed penalties against Egypt in the round of 16.
The game was exhilarating from the very beginning with Chancel Mbemba looking to have handled the ball in his own area within the opening 120 seconds, that incident deemed not a penalty by the referee.
The penalty for Guinea would finally come in the 21st minute. And the Guineans trusted their top scorer, Mohammed Bayo to do the honours. The Le Havre man sent the goalie the wrong way and put his nation ahead.
The Guinean lead would be short lived as Chancel Mbemba equalized just 6 minutes later, the Congolese captain latching on to a loose ball and beating the Guinean goalkeeper at his near post. This left the proceedings level at half time.
The second half saw DR Congo get into their stride, as they started to play their way until they cracked the opposition.
In the 65th minute, the crack would appear in Guinea’s defence. Congo got a penalty and Brentford’s Yoane Wissa stepped up and converted, to complete the turnaround.
Guinea pushed for an equalizer afterwards, summoning Serhou Guirassy from the bench, all to no avail.
Congo put the final nail in the coffin with 8 minutes of regulation time left. Arthur Masuaku landing the final punch with a very interesting freekick attempt, catching the Guinean goalkeeper off his line.
DR Congo are seeking to win their first AFCON title in 50 years and have now made it to the semi finals. They will now face either Mali or Cote d’Ivoire who face off on Saturday evening.
