Edmond Tapsoba headed Burkina Faso to a dramatic 2-1 Africa Cup of Nations victory over 10-man Equatorial Guinea as they struck twice in stoppage time to snatch the points.
The Stallions dominated the first half of the opening Group E encounter at the Stade Mohammed V in Casablanca, with Sunderland’s Bertrand Traoré and Brentford’s Dango Ouattara causing problems down the flanks, but ultimately had nothing to show for their efforts at the break.
Equatorial Guinea’s problems mounted within five minutes of the restart when the defender Basilio Ndong was dismissed after a review of his clumsy challenge on Bertrand Traoré. Jesús Owono, the Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper, had to save from Ouattara after he had been played in by Gustavo Sangaré.
Lassina Traoré, on as a substitute, had a 71st-minute strike ruled out for offside as Burkina Faso piled on the pressure, but Marvin Anieboh put their opponents ahead against the run of play with a firm header from Carlos Akapo’s 85th-minute corner.
However, there was a sting in the tail when Georgi Minoungou, who had also come off the bench, levelled five minutes into added time after Ouattara had carved his way into the box. Tapsoba then headed home the winner three minutes later after Owono had palmed away Cyriaque Irié’s cross.
Algeria take on Sudan in the other Group E fixture of the day while, in Group F, Côte d’Ivoire face Mozambique and Cameroon meet Gabon.
