Although the opening ceremony and match at Cairo Stadium witnessed a high spectator turn-out, the stands were nearly empty the following day at the Military Academy Stadium, venue of Group B, Inas Mazhar reports The second round matches of the group were scheduled for last night Wednesday. Angola was fixed to meet DR Congo while Cameroon was set to play Togo. Despite pronouncements by the organisers that ticket sales were progressing nicely, the vast patches of empty seats was evidence that was not the case. Military Academy officers saved the day and the organisers from embarrassment by sending trucks to collect soldiers from nearby army camps. They came in the hundreds, wearing colourful training suits. The soldiers are positioned on either side of the stadium, supporting one team each. The organisers put down the lack of spectators to mid-year exams in Egyptian schools and universities, predicting that when the mid-year recess begins more people will go to the games. On the field, both Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo were on fire as they made winning starts to their Group B campaign. Samuel Eto'o fired home a hat trick to underline his role as one of the continent's top footballing stars and the Simbas of DR Congo showed how much they have improved under the tutelage of veteran coach Claude Le Roy. In the process, two of Africa's World Cup qualifiers were both handed embarrassing defeats, raising question marks about their potential for success at the football's showpiece tournament in Germany later this year. Angola were outplayed by a superior Cameroon side in the first game, where a cold wind thinned out the crowd. The Palancas Negras were beaten 3-1, but perhaps the more surprising result came later in the day when Togo suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of DR Congo. Togo's errors were punished by a much more enterprising DR Congo side in a technically astute display in which the influence of Le Roy was all too evident. Eto'o's three goals were all of a high class, proving that he could again be the major catalyst for Cameroon's possible success in the tournament. The first was a free kick that left Angola's goalkeeper Joao Ricardo rooted to the spot and the second an exhibition of his speed and agility as he rid himself of his marker to head home. Cameroon were 2-1 up at the break with Flavio having netted a penalty for Angola in between. Eto'o had several second-half chances to complete the hat trick, before he eventually got his third with a rasping shot from the edge of the area 15 minutes before time. The match between DR Congo and Togo provided plenty of talking points for the crowd, not only the shock result, but also for incidents off the pitch. Despite being listed as one of Togo's starters on the official team-sheet, Sheyi Adebayor was not present on the pitch when the first whistle sounded. He entered the fray as a 59th minute substitute, by which time Togo were already 1-0 behind due a wonderfully taken goal from Tresor Mputu. Rumours around the stadium suggested that Adebayor was suffering from a stomach bug, but coach Stephen Keshi was happy to set the record straight to the press and the people of Togo. He said: "This morning I said to Adebayor that he wouldn't play because he hadn't played in a long time and because he had spent the last week sorting out his contract with Arsenal. Just before the game, I told him I was putting him in the team and then he said he didn't want to play." To add insult to injury, DR Congo captain Lomana LuaLua scored in the 64th minute after he turned Eric Akoto on the edge of the area before shooting across goal with Kossi Agassa failing to hold on to the ball. However, after the match, Le Roy revealed that a row over unpaid bonuses almost led to his players going on strike for their opening match against the Germany 2006 qualifiers. "This win is miraculous when you take into account the background," he said. "At five o'clock this morning, after a long meeting, the 23 players in the squad came to me in the hotel lobby to tell me that they were refusing to play. However, I telephoned the president Joseph Kabila who assured me that he was going to sort out the problem and I talked about it to Lomana LuaLua (the captain). Fortunately, the matter was resolved."
