Ivory Coast coach Faé happy with comeback and young players’ role in it

Ivory Coast coach Emerse Faé has praised the character of his players after they came back from 2-0 down after 21 minutes to beat Gabon 3-2 in their Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group F clash at Marrakesh Stadium on Wednesday.

Gabon got off to a flying start in the final group game with quick goals from Guelor Kaku and Denis Bounga but Jean-Phillepe Krasso started the comeback for the Elephants on the stroke of halftime.

While it appeared Gabon were going to hold on, late goals by Evann Guessand (84th) and Bazoumana Toure (91st) sealed the win for the defending champions.

The result ensured the Elephants finished top of Group F and set up a last-16 meeting with regional rivals Burkina Faso on Tuesday in Marrakesh.

Wednesday night’s match had a direct impact on South Africa as it confirmed Cameroon, who finished second in Group F, as last-16 opponents for Bafana Bafana at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat on Sunday (8pm in Morocco, 9pm SA time).

Reflecting on their last-gasp win, Faé said he was “not happy with the way we played in the first half but satisfied with the way we managed to come back in the game”.

The coach praised youngsters Guessand and Toure for producing the all-important goals.

“We were 2-0 down at halftime but showed character with a strong second half to win the game. I was also happy to see two young players [Guessand and Toure] score their first goals of the tournament.”

By finishing top of their group, Ivory Coast stay in Marrakesh for the next game, which was welcomed by Faé because of his team’s familiarity with the inland city.

“It is good for the team and to finish first in the group and continue to play here in Marrakesh on Tuesday against Burkina Faso. We will have a couple of days to rest and recover so we are ready for that game.”

Veteran midfielder Jean Michaël Seri shared Faé’s sentiments, saying they showed good fighting spirit to come back from 2-0 down early in the game.

“We are happy to have produced this type of performance against a strong team and this shows that we are a good team. We were down 2-0 early in the match but managed to come back and this shows character.”

At the age of 34, Seri is still going strong and he said it is about looking after his body.

“Age is just a number and if you take care of your body, you will have these types of performances. After a few months, this was the first time I played 90 minutes and I am happy about that. As a footballer you enjoy these types of moments and I enjoyed this one.”

TimesLIVE