Samuel Eto'o equaled Laurent Pokou's African Cup of Nations all-time scoring record as Cameroon recovered from their poor start after thumping Zambia 5-1 in Kumasi on Saturday. The Barcelona striker converted a second-half penalty to notch his 14th goal in the prestigious tournament and tie the record of former Ivory Coast frontman Pokou. A brace from Joseph-Desire Job and goals by Geremi Njitap and Achille Emana helped Cameroon claim a convincing victory following their 4-2 defeat to Egypt in the opener. Zambia skipper Christopher Katongo, who returned from suspension, scored his side's only goal late in the game. Cameroon are temporarily in charge of Group C with three points, leading second-placed Egypt and Zambia on goal difference. The Pharaohs face pointless Sudan later in the day. Zambia keeper Kennedy Mweene gave an early indication of what he can offer to his team. After six minutes, the goalie failed to handle an easy long ball, allowing Job to control it as the Nice striker faced an empty net. However, his shot was deflected over the bar. Mweene gifted Cameroon the lead in the 28th minute.
Newcastle's Geremi chose to place his free-kick into the far corner rather than curling over the wall and his attempt deceived the napping Mweene, whose dive was too slow to block the ball. Zambia defenders made sure Mweene won't be the scapegoat for the defeat after producing similar catastrophic errors. In the 32nd minute, Job found himself clear on goal after a long ball evaded two defenders in a comic scene. He slid past Mweene to double the advantage. Cameroon killed off Zambia hopes one minute before the break when Emana capitalized on Issac Chansa's failure to intercept Alexandre Song's through pass to slot home. The 65th minute witnessed a historic moment for Barcelona prolific striker Eto'o. Cameroon were awarded a penalty when Billy Mwanza unintentionally blocked Eto'o's free-kick with his hand. He stepped-up and successfully converted the spot kick to set himself a personal glory. Job completed the rout eight minutes from time when he easily slotted into an empty net after he latched on to a disastrous back-header by Clive Hachilensa. Katongo scored a consolation for Zambia one minute from time.
