Share

Burkina Faso end hoodoo

Nepspruit - Burkina Faso, reduced to 10 men for the last half hour, ended a run of 17 matches and 15 years without an African Nations Cup finals win by beating Ethiopia 4-0 to go top of Group C on Friday.

The unfancied west Africans won with two stunning left-foot strikes from Alain Traore and goals from Djakaridja Kone and Jonathan Pitroipa.

They took all three points despite having goalkeeper Abdoulaye Soulama sent off for a careless handball outside his penalty area after an hour.

Video highlights - Burkina Faso v Ethiopia

Burkina Faso have four points from two games, ahead of holders Zambia and Nigeria, who both have two following their earlier 1-1 draw. Ethiopia are bottom with one.

Traore opened the scoring after 34 minutes and hit an unstoppable second 16 minutes from time. Kone slid the ball in after a good move on 79 minutes and Pitroipa struck in stoppage time as Burkina Faso won a finals match for the first time since 1998 when they hosted the event.

The game was disrupted briefly late on when a man ran on to the pitch in his underpants before being intercepted by officials and bundled away.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
32% - 1839 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1806 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1100 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 468 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 193 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 258 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE