Vincent Aboubakar scored another brace on Thursday evening as Cameroon condemned Ethiopia to a 4-1 loss in their second group game in Limbe.

The strong forward was the hero in the host’s opening game as he scored twice to lead the team to a come-back 2-1 victory against Burkina Faso.

The Cameroonians did it the hard way again on Thursday after going behind within the first five minutes of the game as the Ethiopians slotted home from close range through Dawa Hotessa.

However, the East African’s didn’t lead for long as the Cameroonians replied almost immediately through Karl Toko Ekambi in the 8th minute.

The first half ended in a 1-1 draw, with Ethiopia hoping to get a lifeline after losing their opening game by a lone goal to Cape Verde. However, Vincent Aboubakar scored two quickfire goals in two second-half minutes in the 53rd and 55th minutes of the game.

Ekambi sealed the victory in the 67th minute as Cameroon became the first team at this AFCON to move to the next round. Meanwhile, Ethiopia will need a miracle to progress to the next round of the competition even as third best as they will need a high-margin victory against Burkina Faso in their last group game.

Meanwhile, the Burkinabe defeated Cape Verde 1-0 courtesy of a first-half goal from Bande. They will face Ethiopia in the last game while Cameroon will play the Blue Sharks.

On Friday, matches will involve eight teams across two groups, but it will be the Teranga Lions of Senegal against Guinea after both teams won their first games of the competition.

Malawi will test Zimbabwe while Morocco will look to get a second win of the group against Comoros while Ghana and Gabon will complete the fixtures.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu