Cameroon 1–0 Gabon: Etta Eyong strike gives Indomitable Lions first AFCON win over Panthers | OneFootball

Cameroon beat Gabon 1-0 in their African Cup of Nations opening fixture on Wednesday evening, marking their first ever victory over the Panthers in the competition.

Cameroon scored the game’s only goal in the ninth minute through Etta Eyong who slotted the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs and into the net.

Gabon almost levelled the scores when Danny Namaso picked up the ball in a promising position, but the latter could only drag his effort wide.

Gabon’s head coach, Thierry Mouyouma, introduced Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mario Lemina after the half-hour mark, both of whom were surprisingly left out of the starting lineup.

Lemina almost made an immediate impact, trying to find the back of the net with an overhead kick, but he could not strike the ball cleanly.

Down at the other end, Namaso’s shot saw his effort saved by Loyce Mbaba in the Gabon goal.

Gabon ended the first half as the better side, but failed to test goalkeeper Devis Epassy.

Shortly after the restart, Cameroon’s Junior Tchamadeu picked up a pass inside the area and looked destined to score, but his effort went just off the crossbar.

Denis Bouanga squandered a clear chance to restore parity for Gabon, failing to capitalise on a defensive error, much to the disappointment of his team-mates.

The Panthers missed another scoring opportunity when Andre Poko delivered a well-weighted pass to Royce Openda, whose effort was thwarted by the goalkeeper.

The Panthers pushed for the equaliser, but poor decision-making in the final third let them down.

Cameroon return to action on Sunday to face Ivory Coast, who secured a 1–0 win over Mozambique earlier in the day.