The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon are through to the semi final stage at the on-going TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations 2021.
Cameroon stopped Gambia 2-0 in a quarter final match played this evening at the Japoma Stadium in Douala, Cameroon.
After a goalless first half, the 5-time AFCON winners Cameroon returned charged and determined to get the goals.
The tournament’s leading scorer Vincent Aboubakar and Nicolas
Moumi Ngamaleu had their shots blocked for Cameroon, while Gambia’s
James Gomez also had his attempts stopped in the first half.
But it was Karl Toko Ekambi who netted a brace early in the
second half to make sure the Indomitable Lions roar into the semi final
stage.
Ekambi made it 1-0 after 50 minutes with a well timed header.
The Gambian defenders failed to react quickly to stop Ngran Suiru Fai
Collins from crossing the ball for Ekambi to score.
What they said
Karl Toko-Ekambi (Cameroon - Man of the match)
“I'm proud of the performance of the team tonight, Gambia are
a difficult team to play but we never gave up even when we struggled in
first half. We kept working and we got the crack. It's good, everyone
has a role to play in this team, in 2017, I played a lot less, it's not
the case today, it's the victory at the end that is the most important.
We are a family, the group lives well. The group prefers to focus on the
present, this competition and not focus on the past with what happened
in 1972, we want to write our own history.”
Tom Saintfiet (Coach, Gambia)
“I am proud of my players, in the tournament but also in this
match where we lost (0-2) against a great team from Cameroon, we were
beaten by the future champions of 'Africa. We made mistakes that we paid
for in cash, that's also the high level. There were tears in the locker
room but Gambia and its players can be proud of the course, we will
bounce back very quickly and return to the front of the stage.”
Toni Conceiçao (Coach, Cameroon)
“I am satisfied with my players who respected the
instructions to go and win the match despite the missed opportunities in
the first period. In addition to the victory, it was our match where
the attack-defense balance was the most respected. I am very happy with
our production against a great team from Gambia. In truth, she did not
change her strategy, she beat her success in this way and tonight we
insisted on our game. Regarding the semi-finals, what worries me the
most is to see my players to recover, it was a physically demanding
match. We will rest and analyze our next opponent and put the strategy
in place. I'm really happy with my players.
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