President John Mahama has commended the Black Stars for a “gallant performance” in spite of their loss to the Elephants of Ivory Coast at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Bata, Equatorial Guinea.

Ivory Coast emerged champions of Africa after beating Ghana 9-8 in a marathon penalty shootout Sunday.

It is their second Africa Cup of Nations trophy having won their first in 1992 against Ghana.

The 2015 edition was a repetition of Senegal '92 when the Elephants defeated the Black Stars 11-10 via penalties.

Ghana keeper Razak Brimah wasted the last kick with his Ivorian counterpart Barry Coppa being the hero of the night with a brilliant kick to give his side their second Afcon trophy since '92.

In a consolation message to the Stars shortly after the game, the President wrote on his twitter account : “Kudos #BlackStars. Gallant performance despite our loss. You exceeded our expectations, going from zero to heroes. I am proud of you”.