YAMOUSSOUKRO, Côte d’Ivoire – Cameroon came from behind to share the points with 10-man Guinea in a 1-1 stalemate in Group C in the first game for both teams at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
Franck Magri equalised early in the second half after Guinea had taken a 10th minute lead through Mohamed Bayo but then had captain Francois Kamano sent off.
The draw at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in the Ivorian capital followed the opening Group C game where holders Senegal easily disposed of Gambia 3-0.
Cameroon was without Andre Onana in goal but he did arrive ahead of the game after featuring for Manchester United in 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
Guinea was handed a fortunate lead following some horror defending from the Indomitable Lions, Reuters reported.
After Bayo´s initial shot at goal was parried away by goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa, there were two chances to clear the ball but under pressure the Cameroon defence botched their efforts and centre back Olivier Kemen ended up kicking the ball back towards his goal and into the path of Bayo, who need no second invitation to finish from close range.
Cameroon might have had a quick equaliser but Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa missed a good opportunity at the back post from Georges-Kevin Nkoudou´s 13th minute freekick.
But their chances were enhanced on the stroke of halftime when Kamano was sent off for a challenge from behind on Magri, standing first on his heel and then ankle.
Initially he was cautioned but after the referee was advised to review his decision via VAR, it was changed to red.
With the one man advantage, Cameroon dominated the second half attacks with the equaliser coming in the 51st minute after Nkoudou put in a cross to the back post and Magri climbed high to head home despite the attention of Guinea defender Antoine Conte.
Cameroon could have won the game late but a superb save form Ibrahim Kone denied Karl Toko Ekambi.
Besides Onana, Cameron left out injured skipper Vincent Aboubakar, still recovering from a thigh injury suffered in training last week.
Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy, whose 17 goals for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga this season marked him out as key to Guinea´s hopes, also did not play because of injury while skipper Naby Keita was left on the bench.
In the absence of Guirassy, Bayo was the attacking spearhead and he gives the Syli National (national elephants) a shock lead on 10 minutes, AFP reported.
His first goal attempt was parried by Ondoa, but Cameroon failed to clear the ball and when it came back to Bayo, he slammed it into the net.
Subsequently, Cameroon won plenty of possession but were unable to seriously trouble Guinea goalkeeper Ibrahima Kone.
In a Guinea counterattack, audacious Sekou Sylla came close to scoring with a long-range shot that had Ondoa frantically back-tracking before it landed on the roof of the net.
Guinea suffered a huge blow in first half added time when Kamano was sent off after the Egyptian referee changed his initial yellow card to a red for a foul on Magri.
The match official altered his decision after going to the touchline VAR monitor and seeing Kamano stamp from behind on the heel of his opponent.
Cameroon applied pressure from the start of the second half and Magri levelled on 51 minutes with a far-post header across Kone after a pin-point cross by Georges-Kevin Nkoudou.
Kone rescued Guinea as the end of regular time approached, first parrying, then grasping the ball after a close-range shot from Karl Toko Ekambi.
There were water breaks in both halves to assist the players, who had to contend with 36 Celsius (97 Fahrenheit) heat when the match kicked off in the central city.
In the second series of group matches on Friday, Cameroon tackle Senegal and Guinea face Gambia in a Yamoussoukro double-header.
