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Goalkeeper Boubacar Barry scored the decisive goal as Ivory Coast ended a 23-year Africa Cup of Nations title drought by winning 9-8 on penalties after the final ended 0-0 following extra time.<\/p>\n
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Before netting, veteran Barry had set up the match-winning chance by diving to his left and pushing away a spot-kick from Ghana goalkeeper Razak Braimah. <\/p>\n
Ivory Coast triumphed despite making a disastrous start to the 22-penalty climax with the first kick from Wilfried Bony hitting the crossbar and Junior Tallo firing the second spot kick wide. <\/p>\n
History repeated itself as the only other Ivorian Cup of Nations title came in 1992 when they edged the Ghanaians, also on penalties after a goalless draw.<\/p>\n
It was a highly tactical and cagey finale to the biennial African football showpiece in Equatorial Guinea city Bata.<\/p>\n
Billed as a ‘dream’ final between the west African neighbours, it became the fourth decider in the last eight to finish goalless and be settled by spot-kicks. <\/p>\n
Ivory Coast and Ghana made one change each from the teams that started in convincing semi-final victories over the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea respectively.<\/p>\n
Ghana captain and star striker Asamoah Gyan passed a late fitness test on his injured hip and returned in place of semi-final scorer Jordan Ayew, a son of Black Stars legend Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew.<\/p>\n
Ivory Coast switched goalkeepers with fit-again veteran Boubacar Barry recalled and Sylvain Gbohouo dropping to the bench after five consecutive appearances.<\/p>\n
Equatorial Guinea president Teodoro Obiang, FIFA president Sepp Blatter and CAF president Issa Hayatou were introduced to the teams before the national anthems.<\/p>\n
The pre-kickoff mood was extremely jovial with rival players warmly greeting each other as they went through the traditional shaking of hands.<\/p>\n
Quicksilver Ivory Coast winger Gervinho appeared particularly relaxed and threatened twice in the early stages as Ivory Coast were quicker out of the blocks.<\/p>\n
However, Ghana comfortably dealt with both threats and when African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure had a free-kick opportunity outside the box on 14 minutes, he shot tamely at Razak Braimah.<\/p>\n
Almost immediately, Ivorian midfield enforcer Serey Die was deservedly yellow-carded by the Gambian referee for a studs-up foul on Mubarak Wakaso.<\/p>\n
Sloppy Ghanaian passing close to their goalmouth offered Gervinho a chance to present Max-Alain Gradel with a sight of goal, but his powerful shot finished well off target.<\/p>\n
After soaking up the early pressure, Ghana adopted a more adventurous approach and came tantalisingly close to taking the lead on 25 minutes through Christian Atsu.<\/p>\n
The pacey winger won possession just outside the box and his swerving shot eluded the diving Barry only to rebound to safety off the post.<\/p>\n
Ivory Coast were rescued by the woodwork again nine minutes before half-time when Andre Ayew — an elder brother of Jordan — hit the other post from an acute angle.<\/p>\n
The opening half finished goalless with Ghana enjoying 55 percent possession and feeling positive having come closer to scoring than Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n
An early second-half run by Atsu offered Gyan a half-chance, but the talismanic figure did not come close to troubling Barry with a disappointing off-target effort.<\/p>\n
Another Ivorian was yellow carded before the hour with Siaka Tiene joining fellow midfielder Die in the book for pulling back Atsu.<\/p>\n
As the game reached the three-quarter mark, Ivory Coast made the first change with recent Roma signing Seydou Doumbia coming off the bench to replace the ineffective Gradel.<\/p>\n
While there were moments of anxiety for both defences, clearcut chances remained elusive and the game predictably drifted into extra-time.<\/p>\n
Ghana finally made a substitution on 99 minutes with Jordan Ayew, whose penalty goal set up the semi-final romp over Equatorial Guinea, taking the place of Kwesi Appiah.<\/p>\n
The pattern of half-chances continued in extra-time, but despite the presence of star African strikers like Gyan and Ivorian Wilfried Bony, the scoreboard operator remained unemployed until the shootout.<\/p>\n
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