Back on track

Guinea entered their third match of qualifying poised on the knife’s edge. Having just one point from two games meant that the Syli Nationale were in dire straights. A loss in Windhoek against The Brave Warriors of Namibia would likely end their World Cup hopes as well as their Nations Cup hopes. It was under these circumstances that Guinea faced off against Namibia on June 14.

It was to be the second time this year that the two squads faced off as they were also group mates at the Nations Cup in Ghana earlier this year. That match resulted in a 1-1 draw that was enough for Guinea to get through to the knockout stages of the tournament.
One major difference between the Guinea team on that day and the one that went to Windhoek: Pascal Feindouno. You may remember that Feindouno stupidly got himself a red card against Morocco in the previous Nations Cup game that made him unavailable to face Namibia that day. That was not the case in Windhoek. And Feindouno as he so often is in the Guinea shirt proved decisive. After Dynamo Kyiv striker Ismaël Bangoura opened the scoring for Guinea in the 22nd minute, Rudolf Bester found an equalizer for Namibia shortly before halftime in the 42nd minute.

With the two teams ready to go to halftime on even terms, Feindouno made his presence known by ensuring that that was not the case. The Guinea captain scored a late goal in stoppage time in the first half to send Guinea into the break with the lead. The Namibians were left heartbroken and Guinea made sure their fans left the stadium that day with nothing to cheer about. The second half produced no more scoring and Guinea had done enough to take all three points home with them to Conakry. Kenya on the same weekend had picked up their second consecutive 2-0 home victory, this time over Zimbabwe. That result meant that Kenya were now in first place in the group with 6 points. Guinea and Zimbabwe both trailed at 4 points with Namibia in last place holding 3 points.

Guinea manager Robert Nouzaret was very pleased with the result, “The match was very difficult in all respects: physically, tactically and above all mentally. We had no choice but to win, and thankfully we managed it.” Despite the win Nouzaret felt that the team was far from having found their groove.

Nouzaret’s desire to see his team perform at their best was fulfilled in Conakry the following the week as the Syli Nationale annihilated visiting Namibia 4-0. It was a match that coach and team threatened to boycott citing unpaid bonuses in an all too common occurrence in African football. Just hours before kick-off the dispute was settled as the money or at least some of it was paid. If there were lingering effects of the dispute, it did not show on the pitch.

Guinea took control of the match from the beginning and their loyal fans did not have to wait long before Pascal Feindouno once again rose to the occasion and put Guinea ahead in the 23rd minute. From that point on it ceased being the Feindouno show and became the Ismaël Bangoura show. The star striker would double the advantage in the 27th minute before going on to secure a hat-trick in the second half with lethal strikes in the 55th and 60th. The match was all about Guinea as Namibia had few chances on goal and never mounted any serious campaigns against the Guinea defense. Guinea put in the performance its fans had been hoping for from day 1.
The emphatic victory was enough to send Guinea to the top of the group level on points with Kenya who secured a 0-0 draw in Harare against Zimbabwe. It left both sides with 7 points though Guinea is ahead on goal differential. With that said Kenya did thrash Guinea 2-0 in Nairobi. Zimbabwe is currently in third with 4 points and Namibia are in fourth with 3 points. Both sides are facing elimination in their next fixtures.

For Guinea up next is a trip to Zimbabwe followed by the final group match at home against Kenya. I will look at those matches briefly a few entries from now before in-depth looks prior to the matches themselves.