Liberia v Cameroon
Liberia (6) v (5) Cameroon
A game played at furious pace between two of the best teams in the tournament so far saw Liberia up against Cameroon.Cameroon wasted no time in opening their account with a simple tap in at the far post in the first couple of minutes. The lead was doubled shortly after when the white-gloved Mbah chipped the keeper and it looked like Cameroon were on a march.
Liberia kept their composure and slowly worked their way back with a goal slipped under the Cameroon keeper. Their patience was rewarded moments later when they snared an equaliser at the near post. However, a lapse in concentration from the restart gave Cameroon the lead when the Liberian keeper let a shot through his legs.
This did not deter Liberia from sticking to their free-flowing play and they were rewarded when a sweeping attack from the left was finished with a first time strike into the far corner.
There was no slackening of the pace in the second half as Cameroon, then Liberia traded goals. A Liberian substitution then turned the match in their favour as their number six came on and gave a superb display including the "goal of the day" on pitch one, when he flicked the ball from right foot to left, then back on to his right, turned the defender and smashed a rasping shot into the far corner. A second made it 6-4. Liberia then played possession football while Cameroon were reduced to speculative shots from distance. A late goal pulled them to within one but they could not find an equaliser to force a penalty shoot-out.
Frank Prenesti