Senegal and Cameroon took to Stade Bollaert-Delelis on Monday night as the Lions of Teranga bagged a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Indomitable Lions in their latest International Friendly.
The two nations were separated by a solitary 35th minute penalty by Sadio Mane while Senegal looked the much better side during large parts of the encounter.
Senegal got the game off to a positive start and asserted themselves on the tie by assuming possession of the ball inside the first 10 minutes. The Indomitable Lions were reduced to sitting back and provided little threat going forward during this time.
It was more of the same for Senegal as the 20th minute approached and continued to boss the possession count. Mane and company looked assured in possession and were methodical in choosing when to go on the attack.
Cameroon battled to get into the game as a result of Senegal’s technical dominance on the ball as the home team edged closer to breaking the deadlock. That moment arrived in the 32nd minute after the referee spotted a reckless infringement by Oumar Gonzalez inside the Cameroon penalty area.
Stepping up to the penalty spot, Mane blasted the ball into Andre Onana’s net, sending the Cameroonian goalkeeper the wrong way. After going a goal down, Cameroon attacked in sporadic moments but failed to trouble the Senegalese defence.
In contrast to the start of the game, Cameroon got the second-45 off on a much better note. With it being Senegal’s turn to defend, the Lions of Teranga sat back in soaking up Cameroon’s pressure.
With an hour played at Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Senegal began chipping away yet again and slowly got themselves back into the game, while creating a couple of goal scoring chances in the process.
Not sitting back, Cameroon actively searched for an equaliser and often went direct en-route toward goal. Nevertheless, Senegal sat tight and looked content in surrendering the ball to their opponents.
Senegal kicked into game-management mode as the tie reached its concluding stages and often took the opportunity to slow the game down. The Lions of Teranga’s plans worked out in the end as Cameroon looked a frustrated side when chasing their opposite numbers for the ball.
Nonetheless, it was not to be for Cameroon as Senegal did enough to bag a narrow 1-0 win over Cameroon on home soil
Senegal: (1) 1 (Mane 35’)
Cameroon: (0) 0
Senegal: Mendy, Diatta, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Jakobs, Kouyate (Diallo 95’), Mendy (Gueye 78’), Sarr (Ciss 69’), Mane, Diallo (Dia 69’), Sarr (Ndiaye 78’)
Cameroon: Onana, Yongwa, Gonzalez, Moukoudi, Castelletto (Bokele 73’), Ondoua (Elliot 84’), Kunde (Ngamaleu 73’), Ntcham, Ekambi, Aboubakar (Magri 80’), Mbuemo
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