Geremi upbeat despite losing African Cup of Nations final

Cameroon defender Geremi has hailed his team for their performance in the African Cup of Nations despite losing to Egypt in the final yesterday.

The Indomitable Lions lost 1-0 at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra after a Rigobert Song error 14 minutes from the end allowed Mohamed Zidan to set up Mohamed Aboutrika for the winner.

It was heartbreaking for Otto Pfister's team, who recovered from their opening match defeat to the same opponents to qualify for the tournament climax.

Along the way they beat Zambia, Sudan, Tunisian and hosts Ghana, and Newcastle man Geremi believes they should take heart from proving their critics wrong.

He said: "First of all, we are all disappointed. Every player doesn't like to lose, especially in a final. But as I said before, the positive thing is that we got to the final.

"Not many people were giving us a chance, but we fought until the final and unfortunately we lost.

"It was difficult for me, Rigobert and (Samuel) Eto'o because it would have been a third African Nations Cup, so we are really disappointed."

The 29-year-old, who was named player of the final for his performance, praised the standard of the competition adding that it was good advert for the continent.

"Overall, I think the tournament was one of the best African Nations Cup compared to my first one.

"This means that the football has improved a lot in Africa especially because of the players who have been involved. As you can see there were many, many big players in this tournament and that's why the quality was so high."

There were also words of comfort for his captain Song, who Geremi believes should not be blamed for the goal.

He added: "In football, if one commits a mistake, you can't blame him because it happens.

"Talking about ages, I don't think we are too old. As you know, myself, Rigobert and Eto'o we are players that have the most experience - it's not age.

"People are getting confused between age and experience. I started playing in the Nations Cup when I was young, so it's experience more than age."

His team-mate Joel Apalle agreed that Song was not to blame and admitted they were pleased to have done so well at the tournament.

"This is the way the sport goes," he said "No (I don't blame Song). In football you do make mistakes and when you make mistakes, you lose the game. The mistake did come at a bad moment, but it's a team game.

"Of course we are sad because it is the final. But we are satisfied, because we fought until the end to try to win the trophy."