Cameroon coach Rigobert Song was left to rue a tough start for his side as they played to a 1-1 draw with 10-man Guinea in their Africa Cup of Nations Group C clash on Monday.
The Indomitable Lions would have hoped for a win in what is likely to be a tight pool, but fell behind to a goal from Mohamed Bayo after 10 minutes.
Guinea then lost skipper Francois Kamano to a straight red card just before halftime, and Cameroon were able to fashion an equaliser early in the second period via Frank Magri.
But they could not go on and win the game and head into Saturday’s clash with holders Senegal with a single point behind their name.
"The start of the match was difficult for us, especially in the first 30 minutes. You know how it has been in the start of this tournament; it has always been difficult. We saw how some teams started this tournament," Song said.
“We controlled the flow of the match, but we were not able to score the second goal of the match to take the victory, I hope to do it in the next match.
"We all saw the match, there is a positive part. We will correct the mistakes, and in the next four days the players will know their mission.
“For my part, I will work with my assistants on the technical team to correct the problems we encountered,” he said.
Bayo was named Man of the Match and admits the red card was a blow to his side.
“This result was the work of all the players in the national team,” he said. “I’m a striker and I’m supposed to score goals to help my country. We regret that one of the players was sent off with a red card, and despite that, we played well.”
Guinea face Gambia on Friday with a chance to all but secure a place in the round of 16 with a victory.
The top two teams in each pool advance to the knockout phase along with four of the six best third-placed sides. It is likely four points will be enough to be among those.