Cameroon held at home by Senegal

The big game of the weekend will see record seven-time champions Egypt – who won last year – face a fight for survival against South Africa [GALLO/GETTY]

Cameroon’s hopes of reaching the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations suffered a severe setback after drawing 0-0 against Senegal in Yaounde on Saturday.

Inter Milan star and captain Samuel Eto’o missed a penalty in the closing minutes of the Group E match, denying the Indomitable Lions the much-needed win.

The draw kept Senegal clear at the top of the group on a comfortable 10 points, denting the four-time African champion’s slim chances of qualifying for next year’s tournament.

Cameroon are five points off Group E leaders Senegal and an automatic place at the 2012 African championship with two games left.

Chances

Cameroon were not short of chances.

Four-time African Footballer of the Year Eto’o created plenty of play while New York-based Senegal goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul made several breathtaking saves.

Monaco striker Benjamin Moukandjo also missed key chances for Cameroon, who controlled the last 30 minutes but couldn’t break through.

“We are in a very unfortunate position,” midfielder Stephane Mbia said.

Results & fixtures

Friday June 3  Ghana 3-1 Congo Saturday June 4  Uganda 2-0 Guinea-Bissau  Zambia 3-0 Mozambique  Morocco 4-0 Algeria  Namibia 1-4 Burkina Faso Cameroon 0-0 Senegal  Sierra Leone 1-0 Niger Sunday June 5  Botswana v Malawi  Liberia v C V Islands  Guinea v Madagascar  Burundi v Rwanda  Swaziland v Sudan  Angola v Kenya  Zimbabwe v Mali  Comoros v Libya  C African Rep v Tanzania  Mauritius v Congo DR  Benin v Cote d’Ivoire  Ethiopia v Nigeria  Tunisia v Chad  Egypt v South Africa

Police used water cannons to disperse disgruntled home fans after they blocked Cameroon’s team bus from leaving Yaounde’s Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium for over an hour following the game, with the supporters blaming captain Eto’o for the team’s struggles.

Uganda boost

Uganda boosted their chances of returning to the Cup of Nations after a 34-year absence by completing a double over Guinea Bissau with a 2-0 victory before a huge crowd at Namboole Stadium near Kampala.

A Godfrey Walusimbi cross landed in the net two minutes before half-time after Uganda had laid siege to the visitors goalmouth and David Obua set up Geoffrey Massa for the second goal on 62 minutes.

Zambia climbed above Libya to the top of Group C after a whirlwind start to the second half delivered a 3-0 victory over Mozambique in the northern town of Chingola.

Christopher Katongo struck twice before recalled veteran striker Collins Mbesuma completed the rout with 53 minutes and the only disappointment for the home team was the late red card shown to midfielder Isaac Chansa.

Namibia played Burkina Faso under protest, claiming Cameroon-born defender Herve Zengue was ineligible to line up for the visitors, who romped to a 4-1 win in Windhoek.

Abdulrazak Traore opened the floodgates just 12 minutes after the kick-off, Aristide Bance and Alain Traore converted second half penalties and Jonathan Pitroipa struck in stoppage time after Tangeni Shipahu reduced arrears.

Sierra Leone got back into contention for Group G honours with a 1-0 win over Niger courtesy of an early second-half goal from Ibrahim Bangura in Freetown.

South Africa top the table with seven points followed by Niger (six), Sierra Leone (five) and record seven-time African champions Egypt have just one ahead of a critical clash with Bafana Bafana (The Boys) in Cairo Sunday.