Cameroon scrapes past depleted Comoros
Comoros put in a tremendous performance despite being without a recognised goalkeeper and having 10 men for most of the game, as it succumbed to a narrow 2-1 loss to host Cameroon.
After booking its place in the knockouts with a famous win over Ghana, Comoros's fairytale quickly turned into a nightmare when a coronavirus outbreak in their camp left them without a keeper for the clash with Cameroon.
Back-up option Ali Ahamada returned a negative result on Monday but was not authorised to play by CAF, meaning defender Chaker Alhadhur had to be deployed between the posts.
The task facing Les Coelacantes was made even more daunting inside seven minutes when they lost their captain Nadjim Abdou, who was shown a straight red card after referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa reviewed footage of his challenge on Moumi Ngamaleu.
Cameroon struggled to test Alhadhur but finally broke through in the 29th minute when Karl Toko Ekambi dug out a shot that found the bottom-left corner.
Andre Onana did well to keep out Ahmed Mogni and Mohamed Youssouf in quick succession as Comoros still showed plenty of adventure, with Alhadhur matching his counterpart by thwarting Vincent Aboubakar and Ngamaleu in a memorable double save after the restart.
Aboubakar sold Alhadhur a dummy to finally add to Cameroon's tally in the 70th minute, but Comoros rallied despite their numerical disadvantage and pulled one back through an incredible 35-yard free-kick from Youssouf M'Changama that sailed into the top-right corner.
It was too little too late for Comoros, though, with its sensational maiden AFCON appearance brought to a harsh end, while Cameroon faces Gambia next.
