By Damola Emmanuel
In real life, a match of any kind between a squirrel and a lion is unimaginable. The King of the Jungle would snack on the squirrel with a single claw.
That metaphorically happened at the ongoing African Nations Cup, AFCON, in Egypt, moments ago where the Terranga Lions of Senegal devoured the Squirrels of Benin Republic by a lone goal.
With 63% possession to Benin’s 37, it would have been a massacre for the Squirrels but for the Senegalese complacency and obvious lack of bite in its strike force.
Clearly, the Lions were the favourites in the sparsely populated stadium in Cairo and would have ended the historic run of the Beninoise with bagful of goals.
With the Benin side down to 10 men, due to a late red card, and two disallowed goals, as well as several missed opportunities, it was a match in which the Lions should have made a mincemeat of the Squirrels.
Regardless of their inadequacies, it was the Senegalese that had the widest laugh as the Moroccan referee blew off the match moments ago.
With the win, the Lions of Senegal becomes the first semi-finalist of the competition.The second semi-finalist would be determined when Nigeria tackle South Africa in the second quarter-final in less than an hour from now.
