Cameroon on Saturday finished their campaign at the Total U-17 Africa Cup of Nations Gabon 2017 on a winning note over hosts Gabon courtesy of a first half winner by captain Stephane Zobo at the State de Port Gentil.
But the victory was not enough to secure Cameroon passage into the semi-final as well as a ticket to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in India after Guinea held Ghana to a goalless draw in the other Group A fixture in Libreville.
Meanwhile in Port Gentil, little intent was shown by both sides until the 15th minute when Innocent Nah navigated his way into the Gabonese area and delivered a blinder that was remarkably parried away by Brunel Ilagou. Four minutes later, the agile Pantheres keeper was not lucky as Cameroon’s striker, Stephane Zobo lobbied the ball over his head after blocking away his markers.
Thereafter, it was end-to-end action but with little effect for the remaining part of the first stanza much angst of the home fans.
Immediately after the restart, Gabon nearly got an equaliser but Kevin Junior saw his pile driver from the edge of the Cameroon’s box slightly over the bar and few minutes later, Ilagou did a Yeoman’s job to block away a point-blank shot from Zobo yet again.
While Cameroon and Gabon crashed out of the tournament after coming third and fourth respectively, Guinea placed second with five points and joined Ghana for the available semi-final spots in Group A.
Total Man of The Match: Stephane Zobo (Cameroon).
I’m very proud to get this award and for scoring today, I want to dedicate this to the team as well as the coach. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t qualify but we can look forward to a better future for this team, we tried our best but things didn’t work our way.
REACTIONS
Pierre Mfoumbi (Head Coach, Gabon)
I have always said that every match is important but we failed again to score today and that is something to really worry about because we tried our best but it was not good enough. We didn’t achieve our objective and it is regrettable; the boys have made progress despite the fact that they were assembled for just about two months.
Bertin Ebwelle (Head Coach, Cameroon)
We are not satisfied with our performance at this tournament because that was not the objective we set for ourselves coming to this tournament; but we have to objectively analyse our performance. We finished at four points but it was not enough; the boys did their best and I think they have something to give in the future. As for me, my passion for the game would help me to carry on and I’m ready to do more for Cameroon in the future.
Stephane Zobo (Striker, Cameroon)
I’m very proud to get this award and for scoring today, I want to dedicate this to the team as well as the coach. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t qualify but we can look forward to a better future for this team, we tried our best but things didn’t work our way.
CAF
