South Africa’s Hlompho Kekana struck a wonder goal and French coach Herve Renard made an instant impact with Morocco in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying on Saturday.
Kekana scored from inside his own half five minutes after halftime as South Africa drew 2-2 with hosts Cameroon in Limbe after leading twice.
Spotting Cameroon goalkeeper Guy Roland Ndy Assembe off his line, the recalled South Africa midfielder thumped the ball from close to the touchline and to the horror of the capacity 20,000 predominantly Cameroon-supporting crowd the ball sailed over the goalkeeper and dropped into the net.
Kekana has scored spectacular long-range goals for leading South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, but none to match the one that gave Bafana Bafana a 2-1 lead.
Cameroon recovered to equalize for a second time midway through the second half when defender Nicolas Nkoulou nodded a free-kick past hesitant goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune.
Tokelo Rantie shrugged off rustiness after injuries and a lack of game time with AFC Bournemouth to put South Africa ahead on 17 minutes.
Sebastien Siani leveled in the final minute of the first half with a shot that flew into the corner of the net.
A draw lifted South Africa off the bottom of Group M, but they trail Cameroon by five points with three matches left.
The 13 group winners and two best runners-up qualify for next year’s tournament in Gabon.
Spain-based striker Youssef El Arabi converted a first-half penalty to give Morocco a 1-0 away win over top-ranked Cape Verde in their first match under Renard.
The 47-year-old former Paris garbage collector led no-hopers Zambia to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2012 and repeated the feat with perennial underachievers Ivory Coast last year.
Egypt’s Hassan Shehata and Ghana’s Charles Gyamfi each won three Cup of Nations titles as a coach, but only Renard has succeeded with different nations.
He replaced Badou Zaki last month after indifferent Morocco results and another win over Cape Verde in Marrakesh on Tuesday would virtually clinch a finals slot.
Morocco top Group F with nine points followed by Cape Verde with six, Sao Tome and Principe have three and Libya none.
Cedric Bakambu, the leading African scorer in La Liga this season with 11, put the Democratic Republic of the Congo ahead in a 2-1 win over Angola in Kinshasa.
The victory lifted last year’s bronze medalists from third to first in Group B with six points, while Angola and the Central African Republic have four each and Madagascar two.
Traditionally difficult to beat at home, Burundi slumped 3-1 to previously winless Namibia in Group K, with Benson Shilongo, Peter Shalulile and Hendrik Somaeb scoring for the visitors.
Burkina Faso beat Uganda and replaced them as Group D leaders thanks to a 1-0 win in Ouagadougou through a Jonathan Pitroipa penalty on the hour.
Although Indian Ocean islanders Mauritius and the Seychelles have virtually no chance of reaching Gabon, they celebrated rare victories after beating Rwanda and Lesotho respectively.
A Francis Rasoloforinasa goal gave Mauritius a 1-0 Group H win, while Gervais Waye-Hive and Dean Suzette scored as the Seychelles triumphed 2-0 in Group J.
In Saturday’s other match, Senegal defeated Niger to increase their lead at the top of Group K to six points.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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