Karl Toko Ekambi curled in a free-kick in the first stanza to give Cameroon a deserved 1-0 win over Burundi in their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
The victory ensured the Indomitable took charge of Group C with three points with Burundi second with one point picked in their opener against Namibia.
Burundi came out strongly in attack and had control of matters in the early stages of the match as their opponents took time to settle.
Cameroon showed some flashes of brilliance in ball control and Vincent Aboubakar was a constant threat in the Burundian defence with his brilliant runs.
He nearly beat Burundi goalkeeper Jonathan Nahimana with a long shot on the 25th minute mark when she forced the Swallows custodian to make a save.
But when Vincent Aboubalak was fouled close to the box on the half an hour mark , it put the home side on the edge.
Maybe it was a justified premonition after Toko-Ekambi stepped forward to curl in perfectly just by the side of the wall to beat
The Swallows started the second half strongly and appeared determined to get net an equalizer but the Cameroon defence stood firm on all fronts.
André-Frank Zambo Anguissa had an attempt to extend Cameroon’s the lead in the 49th minute with a brilliant curling shot that Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting failed to head home with only the goalkeeper to beat.
As Burundi piled pressure, Saido Berahino was stopped by Adre Onana as he made for the Cameroon goal .
The Cameroon players appeared to have run out of energy in the second half and allowed their opponents to dominate.
Five minutes before the end of the game, Vincent Aboubalar was very close to his second goal of the afternoon but his attempt flew wide of goal.
Cameroon prevailed once again with their quality and they will be in September looking to seal qualification spot to play at next year’s finals in Ivory Coast.
