Victory for hosts Cameroon as Cup of Nations kicks off
YAOUNDE: Vincent Aboubakar scored a brace of penalties to give hosts Cameroon a 2-1 win over Burkina Faso on Sunday as the Africa Cup of Nations finally got under way after a build-up troubled by the coronavirus.
A raft of positive Covid-19 cases among competing teams has marked the days leading up to the tournament, while organisers chose to cap crowd limits at 60 percent of capacity, or 80 percent when the hosts play.
However, the party was not spoiled for the home team as they came from behind to beat the 2013 Cup of Nations runners-up at the 60,000-seat Olembe Stadium, where celebratory fireworks lit up the evening sky at the end of the game.
Burkina Faso were dealt a blow on the eve of the tournament when it emerged that coach Kamou Malo and several players had tested positive for the coronavirus, leaving assistant coach Firmin Sanou to take charge.
Nevertheless, Gustavo Sangare gave the Stallions the lead midway through the first half in the Group A match before Aboubakar equalised from the spot five minutes prior to the interval after a VAR review confirmed a foul by Bertrand Traore on Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa.
The 29-year-old Aboubakar, who netted the winner in the 2017 Cup of Nations final against Egypt, then scored what proved to be the decider in firsthalf stoppage time and he was only denied a hat-trick by an offside flag after the break.
It is the perfect start for the Indomitable Lions as they seek to win their sixth continental title on home soil, as Cameroon hosts the tournament for the first time in 50 years.
“It was an important victory for us,” said Toni Conceicao, the Portuguese coach of Cameroon.
“We knew that playing at home in the opening game was going to be a bit stressful and that there was a psychological weight on the players’ shoulders, but they reacted well to falling behind.
“It wasn’t a great performance, but winning was what mattered.”
In the other Group A game, Cape Verde moved level on three points after Julio Tavares secured a 1-0 victory over 10-man Ethiopia, whose defender Yared Bayeh was sent off following a VAR review just 12 minutes in.