January 31, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 1, 1427

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CAIRO, Jan 30: Democratic Republic of Congo scraped into the African Nations Cup quarterfinals despite a 2-0 loss to Cameroon on Sunday, qualifying by one goal ahead of Angola who bowed out after a 3-2 win over Togo.

Samuel Eto’o struck his fifth goal of the tournament as Cameroon, who will face Ivory Coast in the quarterfinals, scored twice in a three-minute spell midway during the first half.

Congo, who face hosts Egypt, hung on grimly as Cameroon, playing against their former coach Claude LeRoy, came close to a third goal which would have sent Angola through on goals scored.

Angola, meanwhile, played for more an hour with an extra man but needed a late strike from Maurito to beat their fellow World Cup finalists, who were again missing striker Emmanuel Adebayor as they fell to their third straight defeat.

Off the field, the Confederation of African Football handed record four-match bans to Ghana’s Laryea Kingston and Senegal’s Habib Beye after they were sent off for fighting in Ghana’s 1-0 win on Friday. They were also fined $1,000 each.

Cameroon, already qualified, finished Group B with a maximum nine points from three games followed by Congo and Angola on four and point-less Togo, whose coach Stephen Keshi is fighting to keep his job until the World Cup in Germany.

“We’re not happy that we didn’t qualify but we couldn’t get that elusive goal,” said Angola coach Luis Oliveira Goncalves, whose team’s finishing has been their weak point.

Chelsea’s Geremi opened Cameroon’s account with a 25-metre piledriver in the 31st minute before Eto’o scored with a shot on the turn which hit the post, struck goalkeeper Pascal Kalemba on the head and went in.

At this stage, Congo were being run ragged and a third goal seemed only a matter of time.

Eto’o and Achille Webo both hit the crossbar in the second half while Webo was denied a clear scoring chance when he rounded Kalemba and was up-ended by the goalkeeper, who escaped with a yellow card.

Congo, however, suffered a red card for the second game running when Gladys Bokese was dismissed in the 72nd minute for kicking Webo in the chest.

LeRoy, who steered Cameroon to the title in 1988 and returned briefly to lead them at the 1998 World Cup, spent most of the second half on the touchline anxiously counting the minutes.

Angola made the perfect start when Flavio chipped the ball over Togo’s second-choice goalkeeper Ouro-Nimini Tchangirou to open the scoring in the ninth minute.

Togo managed their first goal of the competition when French-based Mohamed Kader cleverly flicked the ball over Joao Ricardo in the 24th minute.

Angola appeared to take control when Flavio struck with a long-range shot in the 39th, nine minutes after Togo had Kassim Guayzou sent off for a second bookable offence.

But in their eagerness to go forward, they left gaps at the back and Cherif Toure Maman pulled Togo level again in the 67th.

Maurito’s 86th minute winner was too late for Angola, whose game ended four minutes earlier than Congo’s.

The stadium screen switched to the final minutes of the other game, only for Angola to see Cameroon nonchalantly knocking the ball around in their own half of the pitch while the Congolese stood and watched.

The remaining quarter-finalists will be decided on Tuesday when Nigeria meet Senegal in Group D in Port Said and Ghana face Zimbabwe in Ismailia. Tunisia and Guinea have already qualified from Group C.

Quarterfinalists:

Group A

Qualified: Egypt (7 pts) and Ivory Coast (6)

Eliminated: Morocco (2) and Libya (1)

Group B

Qualified: Cameroon (9), Democratic Republic of Congo (4)

Eliminated: Angola (4) and Togo (0)

Group C

Qualified: Tunisia (6) and Guinea (6)

Eliminated: Zambia (0) and South Africa (0)

Group D

Contenders for two places: Nigeria (6), Senegal (3), Ghana (3) and Zimbabwe (0).—AFP