OWN CORRESPONDENT, Accra | Sunday 6.30pm.
FORMER champions Cameroon survived a nervous finish to defeat Algeria 2-1 in Accra on Sunday in the first quarter-final of the African Nations Cup.
Early goals from Samuel Eto’o and Marc-Vivien Foe put the 1984 and 1988 winners in command only to relinquish the initiative in the second half and Abdelhafid Tasfaout reduced arrears to set up a tense climax.
France-based Tasfaout, who plays for Second Division Guingamp, wasted a glorious chance to equalise in the closing mintues when he failed to connect with a Moussa Saib cross and headed the rebound over.
Cameroon will face defending champions Egypt or Tunisia, who clash on Monday in the Nigerian city of Kano, for a place in the final on February 13 in Lagos.
Seeking to end a run of three consecutive losses in the biennial tournament to their opponents, Algeria began impressively and captain Saib had the initial shot at goal.
But Cameroon went ahead the first time they moved menacingly into the other half with a long throw-in pushed on by Patrick Mboma to Eto’o, who gave veteran goalkeeper Abdesslam Benabdellah no chance with a close-range shot.
Cameroon captain Rigobert Song was lucky to escape without a caution from Senegalese referee Falla Ndoye after a bad tackle that left Algerian Abdelaziz Benhamlat sporting a deep gash down his leg.
Unmarked Saib headed timidly at largely-idle goalkeeper Boukar Alioum in a rare respite for the Desert Warriors, who lacked the speed to contain the Indomitable Lions.
An Algerian defence being carved open with alarming regularity was found wanting again midway through the first half when Foe outjumped Nasreddine Kraouche at the far post to head in a Bernard Tchoutang cross.
Tchoutang was triggering panic every time he won possession down the right flank.
The pressure from the North Africans finally reaped reward with 12 minutes left when a Brahim Mezouar cross caught giant defender Raymond Kalla napping and previously-anonymous Tasfaout sent a header flying into the net. — AFP