Tournament debutant Guinea-Bissau stunned host Gabon with a 90th-minute equalizer for a 1-1 draw in the opening game of the African Cup of Nations on Saturday, and Burkina Faso repeated the trick in the second match, pegging back Cameroon for the same result.
Gabon was primed to celebrate a winning start to its tournament until defender Juary Soares headed home Guinea-Bissau's equalizer from a free kick just as the clock hit 90 minutes. The rank outsider earned a dramatic point from its first ever game at a major tournament.
"We are very, very happy," Guinea-Bissau coach Baciro Cande said. "Now we have the motivation to go as far as possible."
The late bombshell from Guinea-Bissau at Libreville's Stade de l'Amitie silenced a Gabonese home crowd that began the game with thunderous applause for a president who was supposed to be unpopular. Gabon's star man, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, lifted the noise level even higher with a goal early in the second half to put the host on course for an opening-day victory.
Soares' goal came from a free kick by Guinea-Bissau's own star, Zezinho. As Soares' header sneaked into the corner of the net, he whirled away to celebrate, pursued by his exuberant teammates, and Gabon's fans fell deathly silent.
In the opening day's second game at the same stadium, Cameroon had a reckless start before establishing its dominance to take the early lead over Burkina Faso.
New captain Benjamin Moukandjo sent a free kick flying into the top left corner for the lead in the 35th minute, a lead Cameroon richly deserved after pouring forward for the second part of the first 45 minutes.
Cameroon paid for missing chances when Issoufou Dayo forced a header home for 1-1 in the 75th.
Christian Bassogog produced moments of wizardry on the right wing to go close twice for Cameroon, and he also burst clear of the defence and was one-on-one with goalkeeper Kouakou Koffi just before halftime. Koffi, outside of his area, stopped Bassogog in his tracks with a perfect sliding tackle.
Clinton Njie missed in front of goal early in the second half when he collected the rebound from a shot saved by Koffi.
Defender Dayo, like Guinea-Bissau's Soares, roamed forward for a set-piece and claimed the equalizer.
Earlier, the Gabonese fans at Stade de l'Amitie went through the full range of emotions at the start of an African championship they weren't expecting to host but were given after Libya withdrew. There was also a sense that the central African country — a co-host as recently as 2012 — may not want it this time following disputed and violent elections last year that saw President Ali Bongo Ondimba retain power in the face of strong opposition.
That political unease undermined the buildup to Africa's biggest soccer tournament.
But the appearance of Bongo, who was supposed to be unpopular with some, was greeted with rapturous cheers by Gabonese at the stadium. They then roared out the words to "La Concorde," the national anthem.
The passion and excitement turned to exasperation as Gabon made no headway in the first half, creating few chances as Guinea-Bissau held its own. Gabon's struggles were epitomized when forward Malick Evouna, completely unmarked on the edge of the box, tripped over the ball.
Former Spain coach Jose Antonio Camacho revived his Gabon team at halftime, and it began the second half much better. Denis Bouanga hit a curling right-foot shot that was pushed away by the Guinea-Bissau goalkeeper just before he provided the pass for Aubameyang to knock home the 2017 African Cup's first goal in the 52nd minute.
As he celebrated, Aubameyang cupped his hand to his ear, as if to ask the crowd why they had stopped cheering in the first half. By the end, though, most of the Gabon fans had fallen silent again, while some booed.
"It's very difficult to win the first match in these tournaments," Gabon coach Camacho said. "For the next match we have to fight tooth and nail."
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