Egypt end Ivory Coast title hopes again

By Brian Homewood

KUMASI, Ghana (Reuters) - Striker Amr Zaki scored twice to help defending champions Egypt to a stunning 4-1 win over Ivory Coast in their African Nations Cup semi-final on Thursday.

In an enthralling match, Ahmed Fathi gave Egypt an early lead before Zaki struck twice in five minutes just after the hour with Abdelkader Keita replying one minute after Zaki's first goal. Mohamed Aboutrika added a fourth in injury-time.

Egypt, who meet Cameroon in Sunday's final in Accra, were also helped by an inspired performance from goalkeeper Essam Al Hadari, who denied Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba a goal on three occasions with the score still at 1-0.

The match was a repeat of the 2006 final when Egypt beat Ivory Coast on penalties after a goalless draw in Cairo.

Egypt took a surprise lead in the 12th minute when Ivory Coast failed to clear from a corner and Fathi scored with a bouncing 20-metre shot which deflected off a defender.

Fathi and Aboutrika both shot wide from outside the area as Egypt, playing a measured passing game, continued to threaten.

Drogba was twice denied by Al Hadari before halftime, once with a close-range shot and the other from a powerful downward header which the goalkeeper blocked on the line.

Ivory Coast suffered another blow in the 39th minute when goalkeeper Boubacar Barry went off injured and was replaced by Stephan Loboue.