Soccer-Double for Mbokani puts him back at centre of DRC hopes

By Ed Dove BATA, Equatorial Guinea, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo striker Dieumerci Mbokani has re-emerged as a key figure during the African Nations Cup and was in explosive form with two goals as they beat rivals Congo 4-2 on Saturday to book a semi-final place. "It was emotional for me to get a brace like that because in the first three group games I didn't score and it was emotional to return to the scoresheet," he told reporters. "I scored twice, I'm proud of myself as much as for the Congolese team." Mbokani sparked DR Congo's recovery from two goals down by pulling one back after 65 minutes, before Jeremy Bokila and Joel Kimwaki put DR Congo ahead, and completed an incredible second-half with their fourth in the last minute at Estadio de Bata. The Nations Cup marks Mbokani's return to the national team following an 18-month injury-enforced absence and highlighted his potential to shine at the tournament in Equatorial Guinea. Despite cutting a frustrated figure in the group stage, Mbokani came good in the 4-2 win over their northern neighbours, after they conceded twice following halftime, to set up a semi-final against Ivory Coast or Algeria in Bata on Wednesday. His form at international level has previously failed to match his club success in Europe where he became the first African to win Belgium's Footballer of the Year award in 2012 when he was at Anderlecht. "After my first three games back, following injury, I finally felt 100 percent. Now I feel confident I can play every game and, hopefully, I can continue like this and continue scoring goals," he added as DR Congo celebrated their triumph. "We deserved to win. It was a decisive match for us, we knew that if we lost we'd be eliminated, but everyone played well, we worked hard and we deserved it." (Editing by Mark Gleeson and Ken Ferris)