Cameroon secured their spot in the Round of 16 in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) as they defeated Gambia 3-2 on a night of high drama at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké on Tuesday.
The stakes were high in the fixture as Cameroon needed a win to stay in the competition and star goalkeeper Andre Onana made headlines as he was dropped to the bench by Rigobert Song.
Gambia started off incredibly resilient and went into the match with a winning mindset as they dominated the attack and had more shots on goal in the first half.
Cameroon started to catch on and create their own fair share of chances too as the game progressed.
Although the first half was entertaining, the scoreline was goalless at the break, with Gambia going in with more of an advantage due to their promising attempts on goal.
As for the Indomitable Lions, the nation was lucky to survive a number of dangerous counter attacks from the Scorpions.
Early in the second half, Cameroon came into the match with a renewed spirit which saw Kevin-Georges N’Koudou take a shot on goal but was unlucky and hit the crossbar.
The breakthrough for the Indomitable Lions finally came in the 56th minute through Karl Teko Ekambi who gave the team the lead with a precise flicked header.
There were doubts about the goal but it was reviewed by the VAR shortly afterwards and it stood, much to the delight of the Indomitable Lions.
HEARTBREAKING OWN GOAL
Gambia levelled up the score as Ablie Jallow finished with a volley in the 72nd minute.
The Scorpions were desperate to get back in the game after conceding and successfully pulled it off by equalising in dramatic fashion.
As 15 minutes were left to play in the crunching encounter, Ekambi was close to restoring Cameroon’s lead but hit the crossbar with his attempt on goal.
It looked to be all over for the Scorpions but a goal from Ebrima Colley, who had just been subbed on due to Jallow’s hamstring injury, put them ahead in the 85th minute.
James Gomez would unfortunately score a heartbreaking own goal two minutes later as he tried to clear the ball as a Cameroon cross made its way into the box.
This levelled matters between the two teams once again and the score was 2-2.
All Cameroon needed was a goal to keep their dream alive and Christopher Wooh’s header in the beginning of stoppage time saw the scoreline become 3-2.
The Scorpions thought they had levelled things up once again through Colley but the VAR showed that he used his hand when he scored, thus the goal was ultimately disallowed.
The win saw Cameroon qualify automatically for the Round of 16 with a second placed finish in Group C.
𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐃! ✅
— Total Energies AFCON (@TotalAFCON2023) January 23, 2024
The Indomitable Lions reach the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 round of 16! 🇨🇲 @FecafootOfficie pic.twitter.com/PZgDnOCySH
Gambia (0) 2 (Jallow 72’, Colley 85’)
Cameroon (0) 3 (Toko Ekambi 56’, Gomez 87’ (Own Goal) Wooh 90+1’)
Gambia: B. Gaye, M. Sanneh, J. Gomez, O. Colley (B. Sanneh 68’), J. Mendy, A. Jallow (E. Colley 84’), A. Manneh,Y. Bobb (A. Fadera 68’), Y. Minteh, M. Barrow, A. Sowe (A. Ceesay 73’)
Cameroon: F. Ondoa, N. Tolo, C. Wood, J. Castelletto, E. Tchato, O. Ntcham, A. Anguissa, D. Yongwa (O. Kemen 79’), K. Toko Ekambi, G. N’Koudou, F. Magri (F. Moumbagna 72’)