Curtain falls on AFCON

TSHEPO MOLWANE
Staff Writer | Friday January 29, 2010 00:00

Rainer Dinkelancer, goalkeeper trainer of South African giants, Kaizer Chiefs said the tournament might have been good but it proved that some goalkeepers have to improve on their performance. 'I didn't watch all the games, but I agree with those who say that some of the goalkeepers at the tournament were not 100 percent on top technical wise.

It came out clearly that their positional play must be improved but unfortunately I don't know what's happening in their camps,' said Dinkelancer. He added that despite the errors, some of the goalkeepers were brilliant. Cameroon goalkeeper Idris Kameni who plays for Espanyol in the Spanish La Liga was criticised for an 'embarrassing display' in their 3-1 quarterfinal loss to Egypt. With his experience at the top level, Kameni was expected to be one of the star performers in Angola. Zambian goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene failed his country in the group game against Cameroon when he fumbled a seemingly easy cross from Geremi to land the Indomitable Lions the eqaualiser. At the time, Cameroon looked dead and buried but Mweene's mistake brought the West Africans into the game.

While Nigeria's Vincent Enyeama was suspect in the opening games, he regained confidence and was the hero when Super Eagles eliminated Zambia in the quarterfinals on Monday. The less said about goalkeepers from hosts Angola, Mozambique and Malawi the better.

Former South African captain, Neil Tovey says Angola came prepared but were let down by not converting the chances they created against Ghana.

The likes of Manucho, Gilberto and Ze Kalanga were all at fault when the Palancas Negras suffered a painful defeat in front of 50, 000 spectators who packed the Luanda Stadium on the night. Tovey says that to lift the continental trophy, one has to score goals. In 1996 when South Africa won the tournament, they were sharp in front of goal with Mark Williams, Mark Fish, Doctor Khumalo and Shaun Bartlett all scoring decisive goals.

Tovey believes that apart from a few blunders, the referees have not been bad. 'In every tournament, there's going to be mistakes but under the circumstances they tried their best,' says Tovey. He tips Egypt and Ghana to contest the Sunday final.

AFCON record holders, Egypt were once again the main talking point with their refreshing style of play despite the absence of big names Amr Zaki, Mohammed Abou-Treka and Mido. Egypt's display once again emphasised coach Hassan Shehata's words that it takes a lot of discipline for a team to deliver at this level. Emad Motaeb, captain Ahmed Hassan and Mohammed Gedo have all come to the party in a bid to take the Pharaohs to the Promised Land.