The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon recovered from their first match upset of the opening Group 'C' match of the African Cup of Nations tournament to rout 'Chipolopolo' of Zambia 5-1 at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Saturday.
The devastating Cameroonians never relented in their strides as they pounded the goal-area of Zambia with their non-stop attacks that forced their opponents to backtrack. The Zambians, who could not cope with the penchant moves by the Indomitable Lions, committed a lot of defensive blunders, which the Cameroonians exploited to reap a goal harvest.
Cameroon were the first to kick-off but were stopped in their strides by the fleet-footed Zambians, who nearly took an early lead in the fourth minute with goalkeeper Carlos Kawon Idris saving a point-blank shot by the marauding front-runner James Chawanga.
The Zambians dictated the early pace of the game as Cameroon struggled to find their rhythm but could still not score in the ninth minute with Kennedy Nketani's shot across goal earning his side a corner-kick. Cameroonian star, Samuel Eto'o Fils from the 20th minute inspired his side with brilliant moves, forcing the Zambians to defend stoutly.
This paid dividend for them when in one of such moves, Geremi Njitap was fouled outside the '18'-yard box earning his side a free kick. The burly striker shot straight into the net in the 27th minute to break the deadlock.
The Zambians reeled under intense pressure and unmarked Njitap exploited a defensive blunder to slot the ball into the net for the second goal in the 31st minute. Zambian Hickmani Himonde took over from Kennedy Nketani in the 39th minute to strengthen the attack but a minute later, Eto'o meandered his way through the defence but his powerful left-footer sailed over the bar.
In the 44th minute, Cameroon raised the score to 3-0 in a swift-counter attack that was finished off by Achille Emana. Zambia resumed the second half full of fight but striker Ian Bakala shot off target in the 48th minute.
The Cameroonians were awarded a spot-kick in the 64th minute when a free kick taken outside the box was handled by a hard-pressed Zambian defender. Eto'0 converted the kick to bring the score to 4-0. The goal was incidentally is his third in the tournament and the 14th in the Nation's Cup competition. Zambia fought hard but they were unable to break the ironclad defence of Cameroon, who scored their fifth goal through Job Desire in the 82nd minute. Christopher Katongo managed to score a consolation goal for Zambia in the 89th minute.
The MTN man-of-the-match went to Felix Katongo of Zambia while Samsung fair-play player of the match went to Joseph Desire of Cameroon.
Source: GNA
