Emmanuel Ebou?, the Arsenal defender, has been known to experience the occasional irrational moment during his club career and he was at it again last night, this time as Ivory Coast beat Ghana 3-1 in the Africa Cup of Nations in Cabinda, Angola.
With the Ivorians leading 1-0 in the 56th minute, Ebou? lunged at Agyemang Opoku, the Ghana winger, with a ridiculous two-footed tackle from behind and was sent off. He will miss his team’s next match, a quarter-final, because of suspension. Despite his absence, Ivory Coast became the first team to qualify for the last eight, goals from Gervinho, Siaka Tiene and Didier Drogba, the Chelsea striker, easing them through.
Drogba, somewhat charitably, dedicated the win to his reckless colleague. “We performed well for Ebou?,” Drogba said. “We play as if we are a family.”
Group B has been reduced to three teams because of the withdrawal of Togo. Ghana, for whom Asamoah Gyan scored a late penalty, need to defeat Burkino Faso in their final group game in Luanda, the Angolan capital, on Tuesday to join Ivory Coast in the knockout stages.
Michael Essien, the Ghana captain, could be a doubtful starter. He played only as a half-time substitute last night and appeared to suffer a recurrence of a hamstring problem.
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Essien crumpled under a challenge from Drogba, his Chelsea team-mate, and was carried off. He returned after treatment but was not moving freely, a cause for concern for Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, as well as Milovan Rajevac, the Ghana coach.