Bata, Malabo Goes �Dead� As Equatorial Guinea Crash Out

The �drop of pin� could even be heard in the two cities of Bata and Malabo as co-hosts Equatorial Guinea bid farewell to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations after a 0-3 loss to Cote d�Ivoire on Saturday in Malabo. A Didier Drogba brace and the other by Yaya Toure saw the Nzalang Nacional crashed out of the competition. Nzalang which means �lightning� in the local language failed to strike the Elephants and not even the presence of President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo could revive their fortunes. The defeat was greeted with mixed feelings by fans in the two cities with most of them retiring to bed very early. Most pubs in the two cities saw low numbers, the worst in some cases since the commencement of the tournament. The defeat even erased thoughts of the usual weekend nightlife with most of them confined to their rooms. A section of the dejected fans expressed satisfaction with the performance of the team,being their maiden appearance at the finals, whilst others labelled the blame at the timid response of the fans in the capital, Malabo. �I�m very satisfied with the performance of my team. This is our first time and they managed to reach the quarter finals. They have made history and that�s enough for me,� 19-year Obama Esono, a student told GNA Sports. For Ave-Maria Nguema, the venue of the match was their undoing saying �In Malabo, they are not so passionate about the team. The stadium was not even filled. The team was missing the support they are used to at Bata and they never got it from Malabo.� Antonio Nsue, a banker said the team got nearer to the exit after drawing with Cote d� Ivoire at the knockout stage. �Cote d�Ivoire are favourites to win the competition and we should have avoided them. We signed our death warrant after failing to top our group. The team has done well and they can move on from this point.� The exit of the co-hosts means the end of the competition in Bata and Malabo as far as spectatorship is concerned. Bata will host one semi final and Malabo, the third-place playoff.