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| Egypt Wins Historic Sixth African Cup |
| Indomitable Lions face second finals loss to Pharaohs |
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Amin George Forji (amingeorge)  |
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Published 2008-02-11 06:31 (KST) |
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It was perhaps the most watched African Nations Cup ever, and most analysts rightly suggest that the 26th edition in Ghana was undoubtedly the best in terms of quality, substance and significance.
In the Cameroon-Egypt encounter, the continent's footballing heavyweights aimed to break their own records. In the end, Egypt won the day with a lone goal that came in at the 77th minute, Mohamed Aboutrika successfully pushing home a Mohamed Zidan pass, which had resulted from a silly mistake by Cameroon's captain, Rigobert Song.
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| But it was action from the very first minute. The Indomitable Lions made the first moves during the first 13 minutes, but hardly troubled the Pharaohs. In fact, Cameroon quickly lost momentum at the 15th minute when playmaker Alexandre Song, who was struggling with an injury from the semifinals, gave away his place to Gilles Binya, who was far from being his match.
Already struggling without their key defender, Bikey, who received a red card in the last match, Cameroon resorted to defensive play, occasionally firing long shots to their Barcelona star, Samuel Eto'o. But this was of little help, as Eto'o was manhandled every time by at least two Egyptians.
Cameroon dominated in terms of physical power, but it was Egypt that had the key moments of the first half. But Cameroon's keeper, Kameni, made at least three impossible saves, to keep the game goalless.
The second half began the same way as the first, with the Lions mounting considerable pressure on the Pharaohs. The Egyptians were quick to balance play, and with just 13 minutes of playtime left, when it appeared that the match was bound for extra time, Egypt drowned Cameroon's aspirations after Zidan won a tussle against Captain Song's untidy play, pushing a pass to the waiting Aboutrika, who fired pass Kameni to score the 99th goal of the tournament.
Egypt then resorted to defensive play, as Cameroon mounted one assault after another, all to no avail.
Ghana 2008 produced more goals than any other African Nations Cup. Egypt won a record sixth title; Cameroon was vying for a record fifth title. It was only the third time in the history of the cup that a team successfully defended the trophy. Egypt did it once before, in 1959. Cameroon defended its title in 2002.
Cameroon has made six appearances at the finals. This was their second defeat -- again by Egypt.
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©2008 OhmyNews
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