Head Coach of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Rigobert Song, has expressed hope despite his team’s 1-1 draw by 10-man Guinea in their opening game at the 2023 African Cup of Nations on Monday.

Cameroon found themselves behind only 10 minutes into the match after Mohamed Bayo gave Guinea the lead but Frank Magri would score in the second half at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Yamoussoukro to rescue a point for the Lions.

“The start of the match was difficult for us, especially in the first 30 minutes,” Mr Song told reporters during the post-match conference on Monday. “You know how it has been since the start of this tournament; it has always been difficult. We saw how some teams started this tournament,” he added.

The former national team player said the team played well and controlled the game but were only unable to score a second goal to secure the maximum points. 

Mr Song said he saw a positive part during the game as he planned to make things right in the next game.

“We controlled the flow of the match, but we were not able to score the second goal of the match to take the victory, I hope to do it in the next match. We all saw the match, there is a positive part. We will correct the mistakes, and in the next four days the players will know their mission,” he said.

Answering questions on the absence of goalkeeper Andre Onana in the match day squad for the game, Mr Song said it is obvious that the Manchester United man could not have possibly played in the game considering he joined the team late.

“No, Andre Onana, we all know that he would not play. We need to stick together with our logic. He arrived at 4am, how do you expect him to pay at 5pm?,” he queried. He joined us at 4am so he is part of the squad. There is the rest of the competition and I am sticking to my full squad,” he said 

Mr Onana played for Manchester United in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham on Sunday before boarding a private jet to meet up with the rest of the Cameroonian squad but did not arrive in time due to flight delay over bad weather.