Intercontinental Play Offs : Lionesses Increase Qualification Chances

The Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon continue to keep their World Cup dream alive. They edged Thailand 2-0 in their first match of the Intercontinental Play offs at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday February 18, 2023. The victory comes as a sigh of relief for the Indomitable Lions fans who were sceptical given the potentials of the participating teams.
It was a tough encounter with the Asians pressing hard on the Lionesses right from the start of the game. The Lionesses however were able to stand the challenge with some good saves from the goalkeeper Ange Bawou. The Lionesses had some good scoring chances from players like, Charlene Meyong, Michaela Abam and Colette Ndzana but were squandered. After a goalless first half, the Indomitable Lionesses came up stronger and continued with their resistance against the Thailand team. Abam almost won a penalty at the 70th minute after her short was deflected by the hand of a Thai defender but the referee denied to give them the spot kick following a VAR review. Substitute player, Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene opened scores for Cameroon at the 79th minute after benefiting from a pass from Nchout Ajara Njoya. Three minutes later Aboudi increased scores for the Lionesses. 
The Lionesses kept their defense tight warding off any attempts by their opponents. Goalkeeper Ange Bawou was shown a red card for colliding with an opponent as she came out of her area to claim the ball. As a result, a total of 24 minutes of stoppage time ended up being played...