The Egyptian women's football team returned home after being eliminated from the first round of the African Nations Cup currently being held in Cameroon. The Cleopatras played three matches in the group stage, losing to hosts Cameroon 2-0 and beating Zimbabwe 1-0 before getting slammed 5-0 by South Africa. Both Cameroon and South Africa made it to the semi-finals. The loss to the South Africans was the heaviest defeat for the inexperienced Egyptian team. A superb second half performance from South Africa was enough in the ultimate Group A fixture in Limbe, joining host Cameroon in the last four. The feat was a replica of the South African performance two years ago in Namibia where they had to beat Algeria 5-1 in the final group match to advance to the medal stage of the eight-team tournament. Egypt's head coach Mohamed Mustafa said South Africa was a big, experienced team. “I wasn't expecting this kind of result. I wanted to close the spaces and not to allow them to score, but unfortunately the girls got tired because they are not used to playing a lot of matches within a short space of time. Also, a lot of individual mistakes cost us. The South Africans have a lot of skillful players with good ball control and this got my players exhausted. However, this is just the beginning and we expect better results in the future.” take more chances.” Before the game against South Africa, it took 450 minutes for Egypt to secure their maiden victory in the history of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations after beating Zimbabwe 1-0- in Yaounde. Salma Ahmed wrote her name in Egyptian women's football folklore as her 82nd minute goal handed the lady Pharaohs their first ever win at the final tournament and had initially put her side in serious contention for a place at the next round before their devastating loss to South Africa. The Egyptians were back in the finals of the eight-team tournament after their participation in the maiden edition in 1998 in Nigeria where they suffered losses to DR Congo (4-1), Nigeria (6-0) and Morocco (4-1). After the 2-0 defeat to host Cameroon in the tournament opener last week, the Pharaohs bounced back in style with a narrow win over Zimbabwe in a match of equals. Zimbabwe almost drew level two minutes later but their goal was disallowed, as they fell to their first defeat of the campaign. The Cleopatras had lost to the hosts Cameroon who got off their campaign on a winning note thanks to a 2-0 win over Egypt in the tournament opener on Saturday at a packed Amadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde. The victory did not come on a silver platter as the host had to sweat for the maximum points in Group A against an Egyptian side that were unperturbed by the partisan crowd. Following the Egypt-Cameroon match, Cameroonian head coach Enow Ngach told reporters, “It's always good to win a game. Even as the tournament's start is always tough, the main thing has been done. We have three points. Egypt played well and they posed a lot of difficulties for us. We saw a great team that knows how to play en bloc. It must be noted that the teams that have qualified are the best in Africa. We must not forget that Egypt eliminated Cote d'Ivoire which is a great football country on the continent as far as women's football is concerned. “We've been waiting for this moment for a long time and here we are. When we learned that Cameroon will host the 10th edition of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, we realised that this will be our biggest challenge. We must do everything in order not to disappoint our fans, so that we can celebrate together come 3 December 2016. In 2012, Cameroon was third; in 2014, we were second, so in 2016 we must win this competition. “The Lionesses are buoyed up and we are trying to ensure that there is no pressure on them. We motivate them all the time and the players are ready. We have Gaëlle Enganamouit who has been with us since Thursday. She is a key player and we are happy to have her. “We played a series of friendly matches here in Yaounde to have an idea of the kind of pressure to expect. We kept telling the girls their stadium would be packed. Pressure is on our side, because we have to win all our matches. Like us, Egypt is a team that has also prepared well, playing in some friendly games. Also, they eliminated Cote d'Ivoire. They are a great team that deserves our respect, but I can assure you that we will have the final say.” Team captain Christine Manie also reacted at the post match press conference. “The state of mind of the Cameroonian team is very good. My colleagues are aware of the stakes in this competition which is taking place on our home soil. Our preparation went well. “We worked hard during these long months, knowing that this day will come. It is true that 24 hours before the opening match there is some kind of pressure. “We played four matches in the qualifiers including the victory over Cote d'Ivoire in the final round,” Egypt's head coach Mustafa Mohamed said. “We will take it one game at a time and will see what happens. Every team here in this tournament has the same objective of winning the trophy. “We have some players playing abroad but they are in colleges and not professionals. However, we want them to gain experience.” Mohamed congratulated the hosts on their victory. “I congratulate Cameroon who played well and had a good game. My player gave the best of themselves to limit the damage. I never thought they could do what they did this afternoon. Cameroon is an experienced team that plays with many professionals.” Samia Adam, the Egyptian team captain, also had her say in the tournament. “Every team has its style of play. We have been preparing very well the last few months and it has given us the confidence to win matches. “Women's football is evolving in Egypt and our participation in this tournament will help to heighten awareness. Egypt has a successful men's football team and it is our wish the women will reach that level soon,” Adam said. The Egyptians were making their second appearance at the Women's Nations Cup with the first appearance at the inaugural event in Nigeria in 1998. The event has been held nine times with 19 African countries all together taking part in the eight-team competition. Nigeria takes the lead with seven titles and two for Equatorial Guinea. The Nigerians have featured in nine semi-finals whereas South Africa and Ghana have been three times finalists. Cameroon and South Africa have featured in every edition. The tournament runs through to 3 December with two teams from each group qualifying to the semi-finals and the winners making it to the final.
