February 06, (THEWILL) – Cameroon turned a topsy-turvy game on its head and beat Bukina Faso on penalties following a 3-3 draw in the Africa Cup of Nations third-place fixture.
A disastrous error that led to Andre Onana’s own goal was sandwiched by strikes from Steeve Yago and Djibril Ouattara and appeared to be enough to secure a third-placed finish for Kamou Malo’s side, or so it seemed initially.
Burkina Faso took the lead against the run of play on 24 minutes, as left-back Yago popped up at the far post to convert a beautiful Issa Kabore cross, as both full-backs combined to take the lead.
Then, another Kabore cross caused havoc in the Cameroon area as Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana ended up helping the ball into his own net. A VAR determined that the right-back kept the ball in play, ensuring that Onana’s blushes were not spared in keeping Burkina Faso two up at the break.
Soon after, it was three, Ouattara powerfully nodding beyond the helpless Onana from a lovely Bertrand Traore in-swinger, as Burkina Faso heaped further humiliation on their Cameroonian rivals and hosts.
In a frantic bid to rescue the game and save some face, Antonio Oliveira brought in his stars from the bench, but as shots poured down on the Burkina goalmouth, the Indomitable Lions could not seem to force a goal, with Burkina holding fast to their triple cushion lead.
Then, Cameroon got that glimmer of hope when Stephane Bahoken struck from close range after a corner melee with 18 minutes to go. It was the spark the hosts needed and it was one that they were going to exploit all the way to the final whistle.
Once again, the Cameroon talisman and captain Vincent Aboubakar was instrumental to their triumph. He scored to cut the two-goal lead in half, nodding home from a Nicolas Ngamaleu corner to cast doubt on Burkina Faso’s resolve, but they held firm once more as Cameroon pounced with consistence.
Aboubakar delivered again, right at the end, capitalising on goalkeeper Farid Ouedraogo’s blunder as he slid into an open net to complete an amazing comeback and level the scores of the third place fixture to the wild celebrations of their supporters in the stands.
After some disagreement over whether penalties or extra time would be used, a shootout was agreed upon, and it would be Blati Toure who would miss the important penalty; the third kick for Burkina Faso. Onana finally made up for his poor performance in the first 90 minutes, making the crucial save to earn victory and bronze for the hosts.
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.
