Egypt took off in flying style

Samuel Eto'o Fils promised his traveling fans from Cameroon that he would score against Egypt before the first Group C match last night, but what he forgot to add was whether Cameroon would win in the end.

And so the first part of his prediction came to reality but unfortunately the Indomitable Lions left Baba Yara Stadium in total disgrace after suffering a 4-2 loss.


Holders Egypt took off in flying style, terrorizing the Lions, then three quick goals from Abdrabou Abdel

Moteleb in the 16th minute, wonder kid Abdalla Mohamed Zidan in the 19th and 45th minute gave the Lions a daunting task at the end of the first half.

But when they came back, Eto'o pulled one back in the 51st minute but the Pharaohs refused to bulk and came back and added the fourth through Moteleb before Eto'o scored a late penalty.

Before the game the Egyptians had lamented the absence of their inspirational skipper Ahmed Hassan, but he was hardly missed.

His absence, however, gave birth to another star in Zidan, who more than made up for the loss of Hassan. For Cameroon perhaps, age and failure to match the Egyptians fast pace were the bane of the Lions, seeking their fifth title.

Zidan was simply super in the game, moving around the pitch unchecked and giving the Lions' defence, led by ageless Rigobert Song a torrid time.

His comfort on the ball was all the Pharaohs needed to stroll to their first goal. Zidan collected the ball from the right flank and after feigning a pass, he flicked a low cross across, which Andrey Bikey handled.

Bikey was penalized while the resultant penalty was smashed into goalkeeper Carlos Kameni's roof by Moteleb. It was Zidan again in the 19th minute, cashing in on a counter to exchange passes with Abdelnabi Ibrahim, he got the return before smashing in his second goal.

Cameroon was finding the needed space difficult up front and after several vain efforts, the Egyptians struck again.

Zidan was the tormentor once again, picking a lose ball and sending a left foot cracker into the roof. Cameroon defence would have themselves to blame for giving him plenty of time to choose his angle.At 3-0, it appeared all over but the full capacity crowd at the stadium had more to cheer as the second half began.

Cameroon came out smoking and led by a recharged Eto'o upfront, the Barcelona striker created space for himself and engineered a Lions fight back before the dying minute back breaker from the Pharaohs.

Expectedly, Zidan won the MTN Player of the Match award while Cameroon had a consolation in the Samsung Fair Play award going to Geremi.