Eto\'o penalty miss puts Cameroon on spot

Inter Milan star Samuel Eto\'o fluffed a late penalty as Cameroon were held 0-0 at home by Senegal and are in danger of missing the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Eto\'o banged his 88th-minute penalty against the crossbar, reviving memories of another late missed spot kick that cost Cameroon a place at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. A point before a capacity 45,000 crowd in Yaounde kept Senegal clear at the top of Group E with 10 points followed by Cameroon (five), Democratic Republic of Congo (four) and Mauritius are pointless. DR Congo play in Mauritius Sunday and even a draw would lift them above Cameroon in a competition where only group winners are guaranteed places at the 16-nation African football showcase hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Cameroon created most of the clearcut chances with record four-time African Footballer of the Year Eto\'o prominent while New York-based Senegal goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul made several breathtaking saves. The turnaround under local coach Amara Traore of Senegal, who finished fourth in 2006 then failed to reach the next two tournaments, has been the success story so far of the qualifiers. The \'Teranga Lions\' campaign got off to a perfect start with a Mamadou Niang hat-trick inspiring a shock 4-2 triumph in DR Congo and a 7-0 mauling of Mauritius in Dakar followed. West Ham striker Demba Ba, an injury absentee in Yaounde, scored a last-gasp winner at home to Cameroon three months ago and another home win when the Congolese visit Dakar in September will clinch first place. Uganda boosted their chances of returning to the Cup of Nations after a 34-year absence by completing a double over Guinea Bissau with a 2-0 victory before a huge crowd at Namboole Stadium near Kampala. A Godfrey Walusimbi cross landed in the net two minutes before half-time after Uganda had laid siege to the visitors goalmouth and David Obua set up Geoffrey Massa for the second goal on 62 minutes. Angola and Kenya clash Sunday in Luanda and while both harbour hopes of winning Group J, Uganda can take an unassailable lead by defeating the Harambee Stars during September in another home fixture. Zambia climbed above Libya to top Group C after a whirlwind start to the second half delivered a 3-0 victory over Mozambique in the northern town of Chingola. Christopher Katongo struck twice before recalled veteran striker Collins Mbesuma completed the rout with 53 minutes and the only disappoinment for the home team was the late red card shown to midfielder Isaac Chansa. Namibia played Burkina Faso under protest, claiming Cameroon-born defender Herve Zengue was ineligible to line up for the visitors, who romped to a 4-1 win in Windhoek. Abdulrazak Traore opened the floodgates just 12 minutes after the kick-off, Aristide Bance and Alain Traore converted second half penalties and Jonathan Pitroipa struck in stoppage time after Tangeni Shipahu reduced arrears. Sierra Leone got back into contention for Group G honours with a 1-0 win over Niger courtesy of an early second-half goal from Ibrahim Bangura in Freetown. South Africa top the table with seven points followed by Niger (six), Sierra Leone (five) and record seven-time African champions Egypt have just one ahead of a critical clash with Bafana Bafana (The Boys) in Cairo Sunday.