Zimbabwe suffered a 1-0 loss to Cameroon in their first match at the 2020 African Championship (CHAN) on Saturday.

The Warriors maintained a disciplined defence in the opening half and relied mostly on counter-attacks.

They survived an early scare in the second minute when Carlos Mavhurume miscued his clearance and almost found its way past goalkeeper Ariel Sibanda.

The host nation continued to hold an edge in possession and created a number of raids which Zimbabwe survived. Their first biggest chance came in the 18th minute when Serge Andoulo’s shot was superbly saved by Sibanda.

On the other end, the Southern Africans launched a couple of attacks but they were slow in transition and never posed any threat to their opponents.

The game went into the break goalless.

The early moments of the second half belonged to Cameroon with Jacques Zoua and Alfred Meyong creating some big chances in the first three minutes.

Meyong had another opportunity falling on his way just after the hour, but he sent his header wide from an unmissable position.

The Indomitable Lions continued to dominate and finally found their breakthrough on minute 70 when Banga Bindjelme’s overhead kick opened the scoring.

Thierry Tchuente could have made it two moments later but Sibanda reacted well to stop his effort.

Nonetheless, Cameroon kept their advantage to won the opening match of the 2020 CHAN 1-0.