Vincent Aboubakar scored a second-half penalty goal to rescue a point for the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon after a goal from Moses Simon in the opening half had put Nigeria on course for victory at the Omnisport Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde.
Just like the first leg last Saturday, Cameroon began the game on the front foot and looked to unsettle the visitors with an early goal but goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa made sure their attempts ended in futility by saving twice from Nsame Jean Pierre in the opening 10 minutes.
Around the half-hour mark, KAA Gent forward Simon profited from a poor clearance by the Cameroon defence off Odion Ighalo’s initial effort and wasted no time in firing the visitors into the lead, striking the ball past a hapless Fabrice Ondoa in the opposition goal.
The Eagles continued to control the game and made life very difficult for the Cameroon attack, such that they were unable do anything with the ball in the final third of the pitch, but they also wasted some good opportunities to extend their lead, most notably Victor Moses’ strike against the woodwork in the 67th minute.
They were made to pay for their missed opportunities late in the game after Goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa conceded a penalty by running off his line to challenge Djoum Arnaud recklessly which Aboubakar converted to save his country from further embarrassment.
The result leaves Nigeria top of Group B with 10 points, six points clear of second-placed Zambia who play on Tuesday against Algeria, while Cameroon are officially out of the race to qualify for Russia 2018 after garnering only three points from the first four rounds.
