Cameroon's Late Goal Sinks Kenya's AFCON Hopes
Harambee stars' hopes of qualifying for AFCON 2025 to be staged in Morocco continue to dim as Cameroon secure their slot. In a return match played behind closed doors in Kampala, Uganda, Cameroon beat Kenya by 1 goal to nil to reach 10 points. Kenya remain third on the Group J with only 4 points.
After a disastrous outing in Yaounde last week, Coach Engin Firat made four changes in the squad that played. Byrne Omondi, Johnstone Omurwa, Joseph Okumu and John Avire return to the Harambee stars squad. Cameroon’s coach Marc Brys made three changes to the previous squad with Jean Castelleto, Kunde Malong and Ngamaleu Brice starting. Cameroon came into the match with bragging rights of 4-1 won at their home ground while Kenya was out to turn things around and secure a point.
First Half
The first half began with a low tempo, however a cross from Brian Mbeumo in the first minute missed by Cameroon attackers was the first sign of danger .In the first 10 minutes of the game, Cameroon tried to maintain possession in their own half. The western african team was trying to draw out Harambee stars but the Kenyans sat back.
Cameroon launched an attack in the 13th minute, Brentford’s Mbeumo put a cut back cross to find Vincent Aboukar who took a shot. Kenya’s goalkeeper Byrne Omondi easily saved the shot. Kenya missed a golden opportunity in the 23rd minute. Olunga’s pressing led to a possession turnover, he made a run towards the right side of the goal, with an opportunity to score, passed to Duke Abuya who made a box touch to John Avire whose shot went wide.
Cameroon got a freekick in the 25th after Duke Abuya's unsuccessful tackle on Zambo Anguissa.Kunde Malong took the freekick which went wide. Michael Olunga's header in the 28th minute, following a well-executed corner by Eric Ouma, did not trouble Onana.
The Indomitable Lions intensified their attacks in the final ten minutes of the first half, creating several scoring opportunities. Martin Hongla's shot was saved by Omondi, leading to Cameroon's first corner. Cameroon scored a goal that was disallowed due to an offside by Nouhou Tolo from Mbeumo's free kick. The first half ended without a goal.
Second Half
The second half began with both teams doing substitutions. For Kenya, Alphonse Omija came for Daniel Anyembe while for Cameroon Kunde came in for Boris Enow. This half began with high tempo, both teams were hungry for goals and the game had back to back attacks. Byrne Omondi made a great save from Ngadeu Michael's dangerous header to deny him an opening goal. Seconds later Kenya's Rooney Onyango shot hit the left post after a key pass from Eric Ouma.
The 62nd minute was the moment that birthed Cameroon’s only goal after Mbeumo won a foul. Substitute Boris Enow's long range freekick had Omondi well beat, giving the visitors a goal. The 5 minutes of added time saw Harambee push for a goal though with no avail. Eric Ouma's shot in the last minute was not enough to warrant Harambee stars a goal as it missed the goal by inches.
Cameroon controlled the game, enjoying 59% possession compared to Kenya's 41%. Despite Kenya's 12 attempts, they failed to score, while Cameroon capitalized on their 9 attempts with a goal. Kenya will face Zimbabwe and Namibia in the final group matches in November.
