March 25, (THEWILL) – Algeria defeated Cameroon 1-0 at Douala courtesy of a goal from Islam Slimani.
The Sporting CP forward rose above the defence in the 40th minute to meet a superb cross from Youcef Belaili’s set-piece and power a header past keeper Andre Onana.
Attempts by the impressive home side, whose exploits at the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations which they hosted were still fresh, to find a leveller in the first 45 minutes yielded no fruits as both sides went into the interval with Slimani’s goal the only difference.
In the second half, the Indomitable Lions pushed forward harder in an attempt to equalise, but they were unable to pose a danger to the Algerians, who sat back to hold tightly to their lead.
Due to a floodlight failure, the game was halted for a few minutes midway through the second half.
When play resumed, it was still not happening for the hosts. Yet, it made for an interesting piece of football as a period of end-to-end action in Douala ensued with 11 minutes of extra time signalled by the fourth match official.
Cameroon threatened early, with Tawamba turning his marker inside out, but Aissa Mandi blocked his shot. Algeria countered with a corner kick, but substitute Sofiane Bendebka was unable to latch on to Belaili’s cross.
When the final whistle went, Algeria had completed the onerous task of winning their first official match against Cameroon, which has been regarded as their bogey side. But, a poor Rigobert Song side squandered chances to draw level as free-kicks were frittered away.
The Fennecs scored late in the first half and cruised to victory in the second. The 2019 AFCON champions will now return to Algeria with a vital away goal and a one-nil advantage in the tie.
In their favour is the fact that Algeria has not lost a home match at the Blida’s Stade Mustapha Tchaker stadium since 2004 – a run of more than 40 games.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
