As the CAN 2010 in Angola enters the second phase of the sorting out series, the boys are gradually being separated from the men. Friday’s match between The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana’s Black Stars was a clear case of the men against the boys as the star studded Ivorian side actually bullied their way through against the comparatively youthful Ghana side to become the first to reach the last eight.

The 3-1 tally could have been heavier considering the unstable and poor vision displayed by veteran goalkeeper Richard Kingston. It is true that the youthful Black Stars took some time to find their feet but the second goal against Ghana from a direct free kick, way outside the box, came at a time the Stars were slightly on top.

It was quite discouraging seeing Kingston exhibiting such poor anticipation.  To my mind, Kingston should have been able to do something about Drogba’s direct header that fetched the third goal.

It is hoped he would improve his vision in the last match against Burkina Faso on Tuesday. By irony of fate, this was Ghana’s first match when all others had had the advantage of assessing their strength .Unlucky Ghana had their opening match against Togo cancelled following the withdrawal of her West Africa neighbours in the wake of the armed attack on the team on the eve of the opening ceremony.

Understandably, Coach Milovan Rajevac had little time to make experiments but having played one match, he should be able to map out a winning strategy against Burkina Faso who need only one point to sail into the next round just like the way Cote d’Ivoire also needed to win to make their qualification to the next stage certain. You could see that they were more determined than the Black Stars who knew they still had a match in hand and with their experience; the Elephants adopted every trick in the game especially deliberate fouls to scare Dede Ayew and the youngsters in the Black Stars.

In the process, they attracted a lot of cards including a red but as they say” the end justifies the means” and even with ten men, Cote d’Ivoire achieved victory.

For the records, Ghana’s late penalty was expertly taken by substitute Asamoah Gyan who though needs to sharpen his shooting perfection. His wayward shooting does not befit his status as a top professional.

So far, the tournament continues to provide dramatic results similar to the dramatic and unprecedented armed attack on the Togolese team.

It is good for the organizers and the home team that Angola has kept their “host and win” aspirations on course with a 2-0 win over Malawi who appeared to have lost a bit of the high spirits which they started the championships.

Gabon’s 1-0 win over Cameroun was a sweet revenge for the shock home defeat they suffered at the hands of Cameroun in the last two qualifying matches of the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. It was one of the most disappointing performances by Cameroun who have shown consistent form in the Cup of Nations over the years.

It was almost like the show by Algeria against Malawi that the North Africans lost by the incredible margin of 3-0. Algeria were so lethargic that some football commentators were ready to surmise that perhaps they were in a hurry to get home and prepare for the 2010 World Cup which they qualified by the skin of their teeth.

The Algerians however proved wrong any speculations that they were not interested in the Africa Cup when they collected three points in their second match at the expense of Mali who now have to double their efforts against Malawi on Sunday to avoid an early exit. From the look of things, it is going to be dicey throughout until the final sorting out programme on Thursday which is good for the game.

True to human nature, the sad episode  of the attack on the Togolese players is fast fading, at least at the various stadiums in Angola and it is now fun all the way.

Yes. Sports must never be allowed to succumb to the atrocities of bandits who want to exploit the popularity of sports to gain unwanted publicity.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.