ACON dream dies for Rangers Bougherra
An action packed night in the Cup of Nations
With the club still riding high at the top of the SPL, it is not as if Rangers have been missing Madjid Bougherra too much but everyone at Ibrox will still want the player back.
Algeria’s hopes of making the final to take on Ghana met an untimely end in an eventful clash against old foes Egypt.
If you remember the battle to reach the World Cup, Algeria and Egypt had to be separated by means of a play-off with Algeria eventually getting the upper hand. Egypt got their revenge in Angola.
These were games that were at the heart of some of the problems that Rangers and Bougherra had. When the player stayed on to celebrate his nation booking their place in the 2010 World Cup, it seemed as though a parting of the ways was to follow.
Bougherra has recovered from that and it appears that the player will see out the season at Rangers before heading to South Africa.
He wont be heading to the final of the African Cup of Nations though as Egypt managed a 4-0 victory.
The first goal was the turning point of the match and sparked a great deal of controversy.
The decision to award the penalty seemed to be the correct one but the second yellow which meant the sending off of Halliche but his first booking was extremely weak.
The penalty didn’t help matters Hosni Abd Rabou didn’t exactly stutter in his run-up, he stopped dead and with the goalkeeper moving, he slotted the ball into the opposite side of the net.
As the Egyptian players celebrated, Algeria were outraged and Chaouchi raced after the ref. He then looked as though he went to headbutt the referee but amazingly received only a booking.
A second goal would surely have been enough and Zidan grabbed it in the 65th minute. Minutes later, a second red card for Algeria, with Belhadj walking, ended their hopes and ensured they would be in the 3rd and 4th play-off.
A third and fourth goal for Egypt came through Abdelshafy and Gedo, then a third red card, for keeper Chaouchi, made it a nightmare evening for the Rangers stopper and one which gives Algeria some bouncing back to do at the weekend.
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