2012 Nehru Cup: Cameroon beat Maldives, seal final against India

Tournament favourites Cameroon beat the Maldives 3-1 in their penultimate round robin match to seal a place in the finals against hosts and defending champions India in the 2012 Nehru Cup at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. Cameroon are now top with seven points from three matches, while the Maldives are out of the competition with six points from their four matches.

The Africans had the better start putting the Maldives defence on the backfoot and after missing some early chances Cameroon took the lead in the 12th minute through a crisp Kingue Mpondo volley. It looked like another rout as against Nepal could be on the cards, but the Maldives are a stronger side then their south Asian counterparts. The islanders equalised in the 26th minute when wing-back Abdul Akram overlapped and played a one-two to slot home past the Cameroon goalkeeper. Camroon looked stunned for a few minutes, but then regrouped and Kingue Mpondo was again on target in the 39th minute following a corner.

With the result at 2-1 at the interval the hope was to see a close encounter, but Cameroon sealed the match in the 50th minute itself as they earned a penalty which Ebanga Bertin blasted into the Maldives goal. After awarding the penalty the referee was questioned by the Maldives player and Ashaad Ali was given marching orders for touching the referee.

Nothing much happened thereafter and the match ended 3-1 for Cameroon, which means that the Africans meet India in their final round robin match on Friday, August 31 and then again in the final on Sunday, September 2.