Winning start for Gabon

Co-hosts Gabon made the perfect start to their Africa Cup of Nations campaign, as they comfortably beat Niger 2-0.

Co-hosts earn comfortable win through Aubameyang and Nguema

Co-hosts Gabon made the perfect start to their Africa Cup of Nations campaign, as they comfortably beat Niger 2-0 in their opening clash of the tournament. The Panthers dominated the first half, were in control of matters from the word go and the opening goal was simply a matter of time. After 30 minutes, the co-hosts finally claimed their opener. Stephane Nguema provided the cross from the right and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sneaked in at the far post to head home. Niger had a couple of promising moments towards the end of the first half, as they had a rare shot on target from a corner-kick, but the attempt was blocked.

Shaky

Gabon extended their lead shortly thereafter. Charly Moussonou, who provided a spark for throughout, set up the second, as he whipped in a cross from the left. The initial shot was parried by Niger goalkeeper Daouda Kassaly, but Nguema was there to steer home the rebound. After the break, the Niger defence looked shaky once again and a mistake at the back nearly gifted a goal for Eric Mouloungui. The Mena failed to create any real chances in the second half and the result never looked in doubt. Gabon had a couple of decent attempts at netting a third, but mostly sat back and controlled the possession stakes, as they saw out the rest of the match without incident.