*Report by Omolade Durojaiye
Cameroon fought back to hold 10man Guinea to a 1-1 draw in their opening 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Group C game at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro on Monday night.
It took the National Elephants just 10 minutes to break the deadlock after some poor defending by the Indomitable Lions.
Mohamed Bayo was afforded time and space to unleash a low shot from inside the box to hand Guinea a 1-0 lead.
The five time African champions responded by exerting pressure on Guinea who were reduced to 10 players in first half stoppage time.
Francois Kamano was shown a straight red card for making a dangerous challenge on Franck Magri, but Guinea were leading 1-0 at the interval.
Rigobert Song’s side piled more pressure on the National Elephants’ defence after the restart.
Magri was the man who levelled matters with a decent finish to make it 1-1 in the 51st minute having been set up by Georges-Kévin Nkoudou.
Cameroon were frustrated by Guinea’s defence and goalkeeper Ibrahim Kone who produced a fabulous save to deny Karl Toko Ekambi in the 87th minute, and ultimately, the game ended in a 1-1 draw
The result saw the five time African champions start their Group C campaign with a draw against the National Elephants who were able to frustrate Cameroon after their stand in captain was sent off.
The two teams will be in action again on Friday as Cameroon lock horns with defending champions Senegal in a blockbuster clash, while Guinea are set to square off with their West African rivals, Gambia.