Afcon roundup: Cameroon’s thrilling fightback seals progress as Senegal win
Cameroon beat The Gambia 3-2 with two late goals
Senegal top Group C after 2-0 victory over Guinea
Cameroon fought back with two goals in the closing stages to edge The Gambia 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at the Africa cup of nations 2023
finals and advance from Group C after being minutes from elimination.
Defender Christopher Wooh netted a dramatic stoppage-time winner to put the Indomitable Lions second in the group behind Senegal. They finished ahead of Guinea on goals scored while The Gambia were eliminated after a third successive loss.
Cameroon had to claw their way back in a game of relentless attack and end-to-end action to keep alive their hopes after falling 2-1 behind with only five minutes left.
Wooh headed home a corner in a riveting fightback in the first minute of stoppage time as all five goals came in an action-filled second half.
The Gambia had dominated the first-half exchanges despite being 80 places below their much-vaunted opponents in the Fifa rankings but Cameroon came out strongly after the break with Georges-Kevin Nkoudou rattling the crossbar in the 50th minute and then setting up the opening goal six minutes later for Karl Toko Ekambi.
The 31-year-old Toko Ekambi was a member of the Cameroon side which won the Cup of Nations in 2017 and showed his experience to get his head to a long through ball.
But a sudden burst of attack from The Gambia had the Cameroon defence looking jittery and it was no surprise when Ablie Jallow equalised in the 72nd minute with a clever volley as he ghosted late into the box.
Alieu Fadera might have put The Gambia ahead soon after but his shot clipped the outside of the post. But they swept into the lead in the 85th minute through the substitute Ebrima Colley, who hit a powerful shot after a clever one-two pass with Assan Ceesay.
Cameroon needed to score twice in the remaining time and were level when James Gomez steered the ball into his own net with his outstretched leg as he attempted to clear. Wooh then grabbed the winner in a stunning conclusion to set up a last-16 meeting with Nigeria in Abidjan on Saturday.
Cameroon dropped André Onana, after their 3-1 defeat to Senegal in their previous match, putting Fabrice Ondoa back in goal and while he looked far from assured initially he made several key stops to keep The Gambia at bay.
Abdoulaye Seck and Iliman Ndiaye scored second-half goals as the defending champions Senegal beat Guinea 2-0 in Yamoussoukro to make it three wins from three in Group C, as both teams advanced to the
last 16.
In contrast to what we have seen so far in the Ivory Coast, it was a game of few clear-cut chances with neither side overly committed to attack. It was no surprise when the first goal came from a set-piece before Ndiaye provided a neat finish.
Senegal top the pool with nine points, followed by Cameroon on four as they edged Guinea on goals scored. The latter will also advance as one of the best third-placed teams.
Senegal, who have been finalists in the last two editions and won in 2021, had coach Aliou Cissé back in the dugout after he spent the night in hospital with an infection following their victory over Cameroon in their previous match.