African Cup of Nations Final: Zambia v.s. Ivory Coast.

It was a breathtaking ordeal. That is the best way to describe the final that took place between continental giants Ivory Coast and this years giant slayers Zambia who knocked out Ghana in their Semi-Final and won the Final. It was a tight affair to the end with the Ivorian's captain Didier Drogba missing an opportunity he had at the spot in normal time. The eventual title victory was in honor of the 18 Zambian players who were killed in 1994 in a terrible plane crash. The spirit and unity that the Zambians undoubtedly felt allowed them to play at the top of their game and lay claim to their first continental title in the country's history. And while the Ivory Coast did have an opportunity through Drogba that was missed; their goalkeeper, Boubacar Barry, made vital saves throughout the match as he stopped Nathan Sinkala's strike from a beautiful cross. Similarly, Barry also lifted a ball from Chris Katongo onto the post in extra-time. The rest of the star-studded line-up of Ivory Coast did have its chances though: Yaya Toure had a shot off target from about 10 yards out while other chances were stopped by the on form goalie of the Zambians: Kennedy Mweene. To be fair though, leading up to the Final, Zambia had allowed only 3 goals while Ivory Coast had allowed 0 - it was never going to be a high scoring match. But that isn't to say it wasn't exciting! The match was, however, decided by penalties as Tiote and Katongo each scored for Ivory Coast and Zambia respectively. Bony and Mayuka also scored. Bamba's first effort was ruled improperly taken with the Ivorian slotting home on the re-take. Chansa struck his in for Zambia. Gradel and F. Katongo each scored making it 4-4 for both sides. Drogba and Zambia's goalkeeper Mweene each converted their efforts while Tiene and Sinkala made their respective efforts. 6-6 then. One more for each side as Ya Konan and and Lungu each scored before the goalies finally got onto their games: Mweene saved K. Toure's effort while Kalaba blasted his over the crossbar. Things were finally settled though as Gervinho followed Kalaba's lead for Ivory Coast while Sunzu struck home to give Zambia the crown of Africa. Congratulations to the Zambians and thank you to all of the teams for making this a truly memorable tournament!