Derek McInnes given squad selection boost as Hearts star returns from AFCON following round of 16 exit
Burkina Faso have been knocked out of the tournament at the round of 16 stage after they were defeated by Ivory Coast.
Hearts’ Pierre Landry Kabore will be making a return to Edinburgh after Burkina Faso were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Stallions, as they’re natively known, were defeated 3-0 by holders Ivory Coast, in a match where the Gorgie forward was an unused sub. However, he was able to make an appearance in all three group matches but didn’t manage to get on the scoresheet.
Kabore will now return to Edinburgh in the coming days and will be back in selection contention for Hearts’ home Premiership clash with St Mirren and possibly even Sunday’s Dens Park showdown against Dundee, who he bagged a brace against in the reverse fixture.
Burkina Faso face AFCON hammering in round of 16
Given the close proximity of Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, the match was labelled a West-African Derby in the build-up, however the game itself in Marrakesh wasn’t competitive in the end. Cote D’ivoire dominated proceedings from start to finish, with goals from former Rangers loanee Amad Diallo, Yan Diomande and Bazoumana Toure.
It was a tough round of 16 draw for Kabore’s side, who had an impressive group stage. The Stallions dramatically beat Equatorial Guinea 2-1 in their tournament opener despite being a goal down in the last minute. They were then undone by five time Premier League winner Riyad Mahrez in their 1-0 defeat to Algeria but got back to winning ways against Sudan in their final match to secure second place.
Given that he’d started in two group games, whilst coming off the bench in the other, it was somewhat of a surprise that Kabore didn’t featured against Ivory Coast. However, the good news for Jambos fans is that he appears to be coming back injury-free.
‘The real deal’ returns
Kabore, who prior to the tournament bagged back-to-back hat-tricks for his country, has been praised by Derek McInnes in the past and has shown glimpses off the bench of his ability. With the Dundee clash around the corner, the 24-year old may have the chance to emulate his reverse fixture heroics at Dens Park, after he scored two at Tynecastle when the sides met in November.
On that day McInnes said: “we’ve got another real goal-scorer on our books here, you can see that. I thought Kabore arrived, he let people know what he’s all about. The starting point for him is his aggression. He can’t go out and just show that he’s a good player. What we need him for in Scottish football is to make sure he has that focal point and that physicality, and then show your skills off the back of that.
“He’s the first Hearts player to score an international hat-trick, I watched his goals back and thought ‘thank God he’s mine, he looks the real deal’, and sometimes you just need to see him in that game situation. It’s good to know that we’ve got another goal-scorer, because all the front lads have scored now, and we’re getting some good numbers from all of them. The more options we have, different types of strikers, the better for us.”