Cameroon rally to advance to last-16 after Africa Cup of Nations classic
Cameroon's Christopher Wooh, centre, shields the ball. AP Photo/Sunday Alamba.
Cameroon fought back with two goals in the closing stages to edge Gambia 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at the Africa Cup of Nations finals and advance from Group C after being minutes from elimination.
Defender Christopher Wooh netted a dramatic stoppage-time winner to put the Indomitable Lions second in the group behind Senegal. They finished ahead of Guinea on goals scored while Gambia were eliminated after a third successive loss.
Cameroon had to claw their way back in a game of relentless attack and end-to-end action to keep alive their hopes after falling 2-1 behind with only five minutes left.
Wooh headed home a corner in a riveting fightback in the first minute of stoppage time as all five goals came in an action-filled second half.
Gambia had dominated the first-half exchanges despite being 80 places below their much vaunted opponents in the FIFA rankings but Cameroon came out strongly after the break with Georges-Kevin Nkoudou rattling the crossbar in the 50th minute and then setting up the opening goal six minutes later for Karl Toko Ekambi.
The 31-year-old Toko Ekambi was a member of the Cameroon side who won the Cup of Nations in 2017 and showed his experience to get his head to a long through ball.
But a sudden burst of attack from Gambia had the Cameroon defence looking jittery and it was no surprise when Ablie Jallow equalised in the 72nd minute with a clever volley as he ghosted late into the box.
Alieu Fadera might have put Gambia ahead soon after but his shot clipped the outside of the post. But they swept into the lead in the 85th minute through substitute Ebrima Colley, who hit a powerful shot after a clever one-two pass with Assan Ceesay.
Cameroon needed to score twice in the remaining time and were level when James Gomez steered the ball into his own net with his outstretched leg as he attempted to clear.
Wooh then grabbed the winner in a stunning conclusion to set up a last-16 meeting with Nigeria in Abidjan on Saturday.
Cameroon dropped Andre Onana, after their 3-1 defeat to Senegal in their previous match, putting Fabrice Ondoa back in goal and while he looked far from assured initially he made several key stops to keep Gambia at bay.
Meanwhile in the other game taking place at the same time, Abdoulaye Seck and Iliman Ndiaye scored second-half goals as defending champions Senegal beat Guinea 2-0 in Yamoussoukro to make it three wins from three in Africa Cup of Nations Group C, as both teams advanced to the last-16.
It was no surprise when Seck's opener came from a set-piece before Ndiaye provided a neat finish.
Senegal top the pool with nine points, followed by Cameroon on four as they edged Guinea on goals scored. The latter will also advance as one of the best third-placed teams.
Senegal, who have been finalists in the last two editions and won in 2021, had coach Aliou Cisse back in the dugout after he spent the night in hospital with an infection following their victory over Cameroon in their previous match.
Sadio Mane had an off day but had an excellent chance to break the deadlock just before the hour-mark as he raced clear on goal, rounded Guinea keeper Ibrahim Kone but skewed his shot at an empty net horribly wide.
Senegal did not have to wait much longer for the opener though as Seck stole a march on the Guinea defence from a Krepin Diatta free kick and powerfully headed into the net on 61 minutes.
Mane thought he had a second in the final 10 minutes, but he was well offside and the goal was ruled out, before substitute Ndiaye found a yard of space in the box and coolly doubled the Senegal advantage.
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