Cameroon kicked off their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign with a 1-1 draw against 10-man Guinea, who have now avoided defeat in each of their last four opening games at the tournament.
Guinea were unable to call upon their talismanic striker Serhou Guirassy, who was missing due to injury. While the 27-year-old’s absence was an obvious blow, it did little to prevent his country from getting off to a flying start. Valencia defender Mouctar Diakhaby had the first meaningful chance of the contest, sending a header fizzing over the crossbar.
After failing to take heed of that warning sign, Cameroon were punished by Le Havre’s Mohamed Bayo in the 10th minute. The forward saw his initial effort saved, but he slotted home at the second opportunity after Cameroon failed to clear their lines.
André-Frank Zambo Anguissa was then presented with a chance to produce an immediate response, but the SSC Napoli midfielder could only head harmlessly wide of Ibrahim Koné’s goal. While Guinea appeared comfortable for the majority of the first period, the complexion of the contest changed significantly when François Kamano was given his marching orders on the stroke of HT following a reckless challenge.
With the numerical advantage, the Indomitable Lions required just six second-half minutes to register their first goal of the tournament as Georges-Kévin Nkoudou curled an inch-perfect cross onto the head of Frank Magri, who nodded the ball back across the goal to restore parity.
Rather than build upon Magri’s second international goal, a lacklustre Cameroonian attack found it difficult to break through Guinea’s resistance. When they finally carved out a chance to score a winner, Karl Toko Ekambi could only fire straight at Koné. Kaba Diawara’s charges ultimately stood firm to claim a hard-earned point, while Cameroon will be disappointed to miss out on all three despite extending their unbeaten run in the AFCON group stage to 10 matches.
