ACTUALITE |
08.02.2002
Malian dream ends
Mali 0-3 Cameroon
Mali`s hopes of reaching the Nations Cup final for the first time in 30 years have been crushed by a fired-up Cameroon side intent on revenge.
Two first half strikes by Salomon Olembe and a late Marc-Viven Foe goal ended Mali`s dream but it was an incident before the match that became Cameroon`s inspiration.
Just 90 minutes before the match started in Bamako police arrested the Cameroonian goalkeeping coach, Thomas Nkono.
Nkono was handcuffed and lead away by police as he and head coach Winfried Schafer walked on to the pitch.
Black magic
Police reportedly recovered an object from the pitch which sparked speculation that it may have been some form of black magic charm.
One of the stars of the Cameroon victory Pius Ndiefi said the incident had angered Schafer and the players and they were intent on getting revenge.
"Schafer told us to go out and win the match for Thomas Nkona and for Cameroon," Ndiefi told BBC Sport Online.
"He told us that Nkono was very hurt by what had happened and had his leg injured.
"We knew what had gone on and we wanted revenge. We treated it as war but we didn`t want to fight with our hands we wanted to prove ourselves with our football on the pitch," Ndiefi said.
Cameroon were by far the better side on the night and looked much more focused than they had in previous games.
Ndiefi, who started in place of the injured Patrick Mboma, was dangerous throughout the first half, teaming up with Olembe for both of his goals.
The first came after 39 minutes as Ndiefi dragged a cross of the goal line for Olembe to slot home.
Mali never gave up
Five minutes later, a clever one-two byt the two strikers saw Olembe score just inside the right post.
But to Mali`s credit they never gave up and came back with plenty of determination in the second spell.
But as the time ticked away and Cameroon`s defence continued to hold Mali out the hosts drive started to desert them.
Samuel Eto`o Fils almost made it 3-0 with 20 minutes remaining as his cracking shot his the cross bar.
Foe though made no mistake 14 minutes later, winning a one-on-one with keeper Mahamadou Sidibe to slot the ball home.
Mali now play Nigeria in the third and fourth play-off.
While the final will be between two prides of Lions - the Indomitable variety and those from Dakar.
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