Drogba lifts Ivory Coast LIBREVILLE – Mali eliminated African Nations Cup co-host Gabon 5-4 penalties in their quarterfinal Sunday after the two sides had played out a 1-1 draw. Seydou Keita scored the decisive kick after Gabon's talisman Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had his effort saved, the only player to fail in the nail-biting shootout. The shock loss for Gabon, which was just six minutes from success, left some 40,000 at the new stadium in the capital silent while Mali celebrated unlikely progress. It now meets the highly-fancied Ivory Coast in the semifinal in Libreville Wednesday. “It was not easy but we have reached the semifinals. It was not Barcelona or Brazil but we worked within our capabilities,” Keita said. Mali had snatched an equalizer in the 85th minute through substitute Cheick Tidiane Diabate to force extra time and go on and win the game. Gabon had looked to be on their way to a fourth successive win at the tournament it is co-hosting with Equatorial Guinea when Eric Mouloungui scored from close range in the 55th minute after a pullback pass from Aubameyang. Later on Sunday, Ghana plays Tunisia in the last of the quarter-final ties in the provincial town of Franceville. A Didier Drogba-inspired Ivory Coast and Zambia eased into the semifinals Saturday. Chelsea icon Drogba scored twice, after missing a spot kick, with Manchester City star Yaya Toure adding a magical freekick in the Elephants' 3-0 defeat of gallant co-host Equatorial Guinea. That Malabo quarterfinal Saturday came after Zambia had downed 10-man Sudan by the same scoreline over on the mainland in Bata. Both games were preceded by one minute of silence in memory of the 74 Egyptian fans who died at the Port Said stadium slaughter on Wednesday. It was a predictable outcome to a match that never scaled dizzy heights with the Ivorians fielding stars from some of the top leagues in Europe while the Equatoguineans relied heavily on Spanish lower-league footballers. Drogba said he had had to pull himself together after his missed spotkick. “My teammates encouraged me and supported me a lot. I had to get back into the game and I owed them these goals. I am happy to have produced the goods for them and I am proud of my colleagues.”
