BY OUR MAN IN RABAT
THE heat of the Moroccan sun was nothing compared to the white-hot atmosphere at the Al Medina Stadium in Rabat as Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions clawed their way into the AFCON quarter-finals.
On a night where the recently built 14,000-capacity gem in the heart of Morocco’s capital became a cauldron of noise, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana saw their continental dreams turn to dust in a 2-1 defeat.
The venue, a state-of-the-art masterpiece constructed specifically for this tournament, was draped in the green, red, and yellow of Cameroon.
The London-born Junior Tchamadeu—currently plyed his trade at Stoke City—silenced the South African contingent in the 34th minute, firing home after a chaotic scramble in the box to send the Rabat crowd into a frenzy.
South Africa had dominated the early exchanges on the lush Al Medina turf, but the Lions showed exactly why they are five-time kings of Africa. Just two minutes into the second half, the stadium erupted again.
Teenage sensation Christian Kofane rose highest to meet an Aboubakar Nagida cross, burying a header that left the South African keeper rooted to the spot.
Bafana Bafana refused to go quietly under the Rabat floodlights. Evidence Makgopa tapped home in the 88th minute to set up a grandstand finish, but the Cameroonian defense held firm, turning the Al Medina into a fortress of defiance.
As the final whistle echoed across the Rabat skyline, the Indomitable Lions celebrated a famous victory that sets up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash against the hosts, Morocco.
For South Africa, the journey ends here, but for the Al Medina Stadium, the party is just getting started.
