Coach happy as Cameroon still on course

– After their 3-0 victory over Algeria in a Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Group A match in Accra, Ghana, on Tuesday, Cameroonian coach Joseph Ndoko (right) said he was happy that his team’s vision to qualify for the final is firmly on course.

Cameroon are now in the semifinals after the triumph.

“In the modern game of football, you need to learn and understand your opponent going into the game. And I think that is what we did in our two matches,” said Ndoko.

“We looked at the advantages and disadvantages of Algeria and worked towards it. Despite the scoreline, the game wasn’t easy for us because Algeria has a good team and they played well.

“We came with one vision and that is to qualify for the final of the competition again and so far so good as we are on course.

“Our next game is against Ghana and we are going to tackle it the same way we did in the two games we played despite qualifying for the next stage of the competition,” said Ndoko.

The 2016 losing finalists made their intentions known early in the game with a series of attacks against the Algerians.

Their early pressure eventually paid off in the 12th minute when Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene latched onto a pass from Gaelle Enganamouit to score the opener.

Algeria nearly got the equaliser three minutes later when Yasmine Benlazar was put through by Ines Moutleb, but Cameroonian shot-stopper Annette Ngo Ndom was equal to the task.

Cameroon continued to dominate after the break and soon increased their lead in the 54th minute through Enganamouit.

Nchout Njoya Ajara sealed the win with a third goal in the 60th minute to book their place in the semifinals of the competition despite having one more game to play in Group A against Ghana on Friday.

Meanwhile, Algerian coach Radia Fertoul was in a generous mood. “Let me first congratulate Cameroon for a good game.

“They are more experienced than us and have players who have played in almost all the national teams to get to where they are now.

“We have one more game to play on Friday (tomorrow) against Mali, and we will see how best we can tackle it so that we exit the tournament with a win.” – ANA