<div><p>Aided by a brace from skipper Ahmed Hassan, Egypt defeated 10-man Cameroon 3-1 after extra-time in an Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final match here on Monday.</p><p>Egypt's prize is a mouth-watering last-four showdown on Thursday against bitter rivals Algeria, who pipped the Egyptians to a World Cup ticket in dramatic circumstances in November.</p><p>The Pharaohs thus improved to 17 matches their unbeaten run in the tournament and also extended their five-year superiority over the Indomitable Lions.</p><p>Egypt assistant coach Shawki Gharib saluted Cameroon for pushing his team all the way, while defending the performance of South African referee Jerome Damon.</p><p>"Cameroon are a great team and they pushed us very hard," said Gharib. "We, on our own part, played very well and knew what we needed to do to win this match.</p><p>"However, a match is all about 90 minutes and there are no games without mistakes, but overall the referee was fair to both teams."</p><p>Cameroon skipper Samuel Eto'o disagreed, saying: "The referee supported Egypt a bit because they did not deserve to win this game.</p><p>"But I won't blame the referee because this is Africa and we still have a lot to learn," Eto'o said, adding that coach Paul Le Guen had angrily walked out on the post-match press conference.</p><p>Cameroon, who saw defender Aurelien Chedjou red carded in the 112th minute for a professional foul on Mohamed Nagy, opened the scoring in the 26th minute courtesy of an own goal by Hassan, winning an African record 170th cap.</p><p>Hassan got the slightest touch with his head on an Achille Emana corner at the near post as it sailed into the net.</p><p>Hassan turned from villain to hero in the 37th minute when he caught goalkeeper Carlos Kameni napping with a dipping shot from over 35 yards, which bounced in front of the Cameroon goalkeeper before resting at the back of the net to draw the champions level.</p><p>A faulty back pass two minutes into extra-time by Geremi Njitap found super sub Mohamed 'Gedo' Nagy, who slotted home between Kameni's legs to give Egypt the lead in this pulsating encounter.</p><p>The defending champions increased their lead on 95 minutes when a curling freekick by Hassan was adjudged to have been palmed beyond the goalline by Kameni. Television replays showed that the ball did not cross the line.</p><p>Man of the hour Hassan was unperturbed by the controversy.</p><p>"I'm very happy because we won today," he said. "We played a very good match, and I'm thrilled to score two goals and also with the record of 170 appearances."</p><p>In the 110th minute, Nagy dashed free through the Cameroon defence but Kameni made a brave save. The game appeared to slip away for the Lions of Cameroon when Chedjou was sent off moments later</p><p>Cameroon fought to reduce the deficit in the second half of extra-time but Egypt kept their shape to stay on course for an unprecedented seventh Nations Cup title.</p><p>From the kick-off, Cameroon took the game to their opponents, forcing five corners in the first 11 minutes, while Egypt's first attack came only after six minutes when Ahmed Fathi had a shot.</p><p>Cameroon continued to dictate the pace of this contest and more than deserved their lead when it came in the 25th minute.</p><p>Six minutes after their equaliser, Hosny Abdrabou would have given Egypt the lead but he failed to direct his header on target when all alone inside the 18-yard box.</p><p>Cameroon's response was immediate as Emana fired a pile driver from distance a minute later but Essam El-Hadary was alert to push the ball out of harm's way.</p><p>From the restart, Egypt would have gone in front when Chedjou mistimed a long ball into the Cameroon area, Motaaeb got a foot to the ball but somehow Kameni gathered the ball. Minutes later, Zidan with a lot of space to spare shot inches wide as the Cameroon defence came under siege.</p><p>Chedjou again succumbed to pressure in the 49th minute when he was robbed of the ball by Zidan on the edge of the box, but Kameni made a fine save.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=67765943&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2010  <a href="http://www.afp.com/english/links/?pid=copyright">AFP Global Edition</a></div></div>