Q&A with Javier Balboa

Equatorial Guinea are through to the knockout stage of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations after brightly seeing off Gabon challenge in a 2-0 outcome. Javier Balboa’s 55th minute spot kick goal opened the scoring for the host team and changed matters in their favour eventually.

The 29-year-old Spanish-born winger of Portuguese club Estoril spoke to superport.com after collecting his Man of the Match award.

Supersport.com: What made you stood up to take that penalty when others were hesitating?

Javier Balboa: I don’t know why they were hesitating, perhaps the fear not to bungle it. As for me I had the strong feeling I could score and that it would change the game in our favour.

Supersport.com: And it really did, but Gabon coach and Aubemayang are mad at the referee, calling it a wrong decision.

Javier Balboa: They have the right to give their views about a referee’s decision during a match. However, we saw that there was a contact on the man with the ball in the box and a whistle was blown, and that should be a penalty. We couldn’t say the contrary. A referee’s decision is final.

Supersport.com: We were beginning to believe another draw was on sight after the battle of the first half ended goalless.

Javier Balboa: Yes. It was a tough match. You can see how the first half was contested. Nobody wanted to concede and each side missed lots of goal chances. I think Gabon are a team to respect even if they lost to us.

Supersport: You won the man of the match award how will this inspire you and your team into the knockout phase?

Javier Balboa: Firstly it came as a reward for my work and secondly, it will motivate me to work harder in our next match in the quarterfinals. It takes away every fear from me and gives me and my team that boldness to confront any side. Bring on Cameroon, Algeria, Senegal or Ivory Coast.

I stopped Gabon's fire - Ovono

Equatorial Guinea 21-year-old goalkeeper Felipe Ovono has been one of the best so far at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. He proved it once more against Gabon in Group A final match day on Sunday, when his side overcame the Panthers 2-0 to stroll into the knockout stage of the competition.

Ovono told superport.com he was responsible for stopping Gabon from levelling the two goals which the Nzalang Nacional held onto until final whistle.

“After Gabon conceded the first goal through penalty they multiplied onslaughts towards our defence line but I was able to cease all their shots and keep our goalmouth impenetrable. You know we have never beaten Gabon before in an official competition and so they didn’t want to swallow that. However, I was able to keep our lead unscathed until the final whistle,” he said.

Ovono, who bears the same surname as the opposing goalkeeper Didier Ovono of Gabon, said he learnt a lot from the Gabonese guardian and will continue to take his lessons.

“Didier Ovono is a great goalkeeper and I have been watching and learning from him. Our victory over them doesn’t mean I’m a much better goalkeeper. He is the main man, I’m only a starter,” he told susperport.com.

Ovono plays for local side Deportivo Mongomo but believes he could be spotted by foreign scouts if he maintains his form in the knockout stage.

“There are a lot of scouts from Europe and Asia in this tournament and they are observing us. I want to do my best to get spotted and hopefully move abroad to learn more.”

Close to 40,000 people were in attendance at the Bata Stadium to push the Nzalang against Gabon. The huge support yielded dividends according to Ovono.

“We just couldn’t afford to fail all those young and old people who trekked from far and near to watch us against Gabon. It buoyed us and we are happy they did not return disappointed.”

Ovono won the Fair Play award of the match.

Appiah admits initial Ghana shock

New Ghana striker Kwesi Appiah says he struggled with the tempo of the team when he first joined.

The Crystal Palace man, whose loan at Cambridge United has ended, said he had found the style of the Ghana team hard to cope with when he first trained with them in December.

“In Ghana obviously it took me a bit more of time to adjust to the pace but in Spain I was able to find my feet and integrate well,” he said in answer to supersport.com at a presser on Sunday.

Appiah, 24, has played only in friendlies for the Black Stars but says he is enjoying himself with the team.

"To be honest I'm happier to be here [than in England]."

But he says integration has been fine since he joined, despite the difference in cultures. And about whether he is worried about not getting playing time, the new recruit is biding his time.

"That's up to the coach. He does the selection so we'll see."

The Black Stars face South Africa in their last Group C match on Tuesday.

Amajita laud historic Cup victory

They came, they saw and they conquered – that Amajita’s story in the Commonwealth Cup tournament which ended on Sunday, here in St Petersburg, Russia.

The South African Men’s Under/20 National Team made history when they vanquished big nations like Russia, Belarus and Finland en route to winning the Commonwealth Cup.

And to cap an incredible two-week tournament, Amajita captain Motjeka Madisha was named Man-of-the-Tournament while striker Pule Maraisane was named striker of the tournament.

The U/20 will now focus on the CAF African Youth tournament which is scheduled to start in Senegal in March this year.

“It has been an exhausting two-week competition because in most cases it meant playing back to back matches and this takes toll on players as they pick injuries and fatigue also sets in,” said a relived stand in coach David Notoane who was assisted by goalkeeper coach Wendell Robinson.

Notoane said unfortunately, there was no time to reflect on this sweet victory because the team has to get back to work and start preparing for Senegal with the main goal not only qualifying for the World Cup but win the trophy.

“These boys have tasted how sweet winning things is like and they should carry this spirit to Senegal,” added Notoane.

While he praised the entire team for a job well done, Notoane admitted they would need to consolidate the squad with all their strong guns going to West Africa and this will include the likes of Ayabulela Magqwaka, Rivaldo Coetzee, Fagre Lakay, Holland-based Nhlakanipho Ntuli and Tyrone Sadous from Brazil side Gremio.

Meanwhile, player-of-the-tournament and captain Madisha said they can’t wait for the CAF African Youth tournament to kick off.

“Sometimes when you are on a roll, you don’t want to disturb the rhythm by taking a break; though it is good to recharge the batteries. This has been a long tour and we need a bit of some break,” said Madisha.

“Bring them on; I mean bring the African teams on,” added Maraisane. “We are ready for anything that is thrown at us. This Commonwealth Cup has hardened us and we will go to the Africa Youth tournament well prepared and not undercooked.”

Inspirational midfielder Tlotlo Leepile said the current Amajita team were just gelling at the right time.

“We are going to Senegal with little complains. We have undergone some rigorous competition and if we don’t do well there, we have no one to blame,” said Leepile.

Right-back Kabelo Seriba said winning tournaments is always a good sign of a team eager to write history.

“We are very much on path to achieve just that. Not that we should underestimate anyone. Going to play tournaments on the continent is always a trick affair but in all fairness I think we should be good to compete with the big boys now,” he said.

Amajita arrive in South Africa at 14h00 on Tuesday afternoon.

Zambia coach Honour Janza

Zambia coach Honour Janza has said he is not banking on luck to get the vital three points against Cape Verde on Monday night in their last gasp effort to qualify to the 2015 Africa Nations Cup quarterfinals.

Chipolopolo face Cape Verde in their final Group B match in search of a win to send them to the quarterfinals of the 2015 Africa Cup.

Cape Verde lie second in Group B tied on two points with DR Congo; opponents Zambia are bottom with a point while Tunisia lead on four points.

Zambia and Cape Verde are very familiar with each other after earlier meeting in the 2015 Africa Cup qualifiers.

"The good part is that we know each other. Cape Verde knows us and we know them," Janza said.

"So I think it will be an interesting match and the best team will carry the day but not the lucky team.

"We will be looking for nothing but a win."

The two sides meeting in the Group F qualifiers saw Cape Verde beat Zambia 2-1 in the first leg in Praia on September 9.

Zambia got their revenge in the return leg meeting on November 19 with a 1-0 home win in Ndola to see them finish a point behind Cape Verde.

Tunisia tackle DRC hurdle

Tunisia are 90 minutes away from the 2015 Africa Cup quarterfinals if they can get a favourable result against DR Congo on Monday night in Bata.

The Carthage Eagles need a draw or a win in their final Group B match on Monday night against DR Congo to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2012.

Kick-off is at 8pm.

Tunisia lead Group B on four points, two more than second placed DR Congo.

Carthage Eagles coach George Leekens is staying modest despite Tunisia showing character in their opening two Group B matches to rally and draw 1-1 with Cape Verde and beat Zambia 2-1.

"We are not the best, we don't have Ronaldo or Messi, but we have a team with a lot of character and a big mentality," Leekens said.

"We will have to be cautious against DR Congo and take the game as a final."

Tunisia enjoy a good record against DR Congo with five wins from nine meetings since 1963.

DR Congo have also never beaten Tunisia at the Africa Cup with two defeats and a draw.

Meanwhile, DR Congo coach Florent Ibenge will have to pull out all the stops on Monday taking notes for his recent experience against Tunisians opposition at club level with AS Vita.

Ibenge plotted AS Vita’s back-to-back wins over Tunisian club CS Sfaxien in the 2014 CAF Champions League semifinals, winning 2-1 home and away before losing on away goals rule in the final to Entente Setif of Algeria.

“We have no choice but to win against Tunisia. We’ll try to rest the players mentally as they are affected. We played two games with the feeling that we must win and we don’t," Ibenge said.

"However, we were ready physically. We will do everything to win.”

Victory will lift DR Congo to five points and through to their first quarterfinal appearance since 2006.

Guardiola in no rush for contract extension

German champions Bayern Munich have repeatedly signalled their desire for a contract extension with coach Pep Guardiola but the Spaniard seems in no rush to sign a deal past 2016.

Guardiola led Bayern to the domestic league and Cup double in his first season in charge last year but any talk of a contract extension past his original three years will happen later in the year.

Despite their runaway lead in the Bundesliga again this season, any possible deal extension seems to largely hinge on Guardiola's ability to land the Champions League title this season.

Last season's semifinal exit at the hands of Real Madrid dashed the hopes of a dream first season for Guardiola and the Spaniard, who won more than a dozen titles in his four years at Barcelona, is eager to make amends.

"We still have time to talk about that (contract extension) after the end of the season in the summer. Football is today like that and completely different the next day," Guardiola told Bayern fans during visits to fan clubs on the weekend.

"It was a big challenge for me (to work at Bayern). I have had a great time and it was a dream come true to be Bayern coach," he said when asked specifically about a possible contract extension.

Questions about his future at the German record champions have swirled for months with club Chief Executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge saying Bayern were ready, at a any time, to sign a contract extension.

"I hope that he stays as long as possible at Bayern," Rummenigge said in his most recent praise of the Spaniard. "Pep can stay as long as he wants to. He is not a person who seeks security. He does not need a five-year deal to know how much he earns at Bayern."

Rummenigge also said he would respect Guardiola and not talk about a new deal before the second half of the year.

That would be after this year's Champions League winner has been determined.

Few coaches have enjoyed as much backing as Guardiola has in Bayern and rightly so, with his team, who won the league in record time last season, undefeated in the league so far in this campaign, having conceded a record four goals in 17 games.

They have also advanced to the Champions League round of 16 where they will face Shakhtar Donetsk next month.