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Nehru Cup Thread


The Dark Horse

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Cameroon to meet India in the final

Wim Koevermans watched from the galleries and must have returned to his room with plenty of notes on Cameroon. The Indian coach watched the African set up a Nehru Cup title clash with the home team following a thumping 3-1 win over Maldives at the Nehru Stadium here on Wednesday. The victory carried Cameroon to seven points, the same as India. The two meet in an inconsequential match on Friday. The Nepal-Syria match on Thursday is a mere formality now. Kingue Mpondo scored twice and Bertin once for Cameroon, while Abdul Ghani Akram netted for Maldives — which finished the tournament with six points. Launching moves from deep in its own half, the African nation brings a refreshingly positive brand of football. Cameroon prospered through the tireless Ashu Tambe. His innovative moves left Maldives in a predicament often, as Tambe — with his deft body dodges — moved freely in the Maldives half, creating space with ridiculous ease. Tambe’s run on the right was complemented by Bertin in the middle. Cameroon gave an indication of its plans when Mpondo scored in the 11th minute through after Tambe and Merme did the spadework. Tambe created the opportunity by finding Merime, who moved close to the goal-line before back-passing on the turn for Mpondo to finish with a volley. Maldives equalised against the run of play 15 minutes later. It was a well-constructed move that saw Easa Ismail lob the ball over the Cameroon wall for Akram to trap and tap the ball in a flourish. The goal lifted Maldives’ hopes and evoked vociferous support from a small group of supporters. But it was Cameroon that called the shots for most of the remaining contest. Makon Thierry — five minutes from half time — came tearing into the Maldives box, but delayed his strike. From the resultant corner, Mpondo scored with a booming header. Maldives was outplayed in the second half. It lost Ali Ashadh when he was sent off for pushing referee Hashmi Hamad when the latter blew for a penalty. On a corner kick, Ashadh tugged at Mpondo’s shirt and the referee was prompt in awarding Cameroon a penalty. Bertin scored and Maldives hurtled towards defeat. Maldives missed its Hungarian coach Istban Urbanyi, who watched from the stands. He had been red-carded for dissent in the previous match against India. The result: Cameroon 3 (Kingue Mpondo (11, 40), Ebanga Bertin 50) beat Maldives 1 (Abdul Khani Karim 26).
http://www.thehindu.com/sport/football/article3836631.ece
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