Oribe Peralta scored in the second-half as Mexico registered a 1-0 victory over Cameroon in a match played in pouring rain here on Friday.
Miguel Herrera’s Mexico dominated throughout but went in for the break feeling aggrieved after two clear goals were ruled off-side.
After a cautious start, Giovani dos Santos appeared to have opened Mexico’s account when he first-timed Miguel Layun’s pass beyond Cameroon goalkeeper Charles Itandje’s reach inside the quarter hour.
Controversial But, despite replays showing the Villarreal striker to be on-side, the goal was chalked off by Colombian referee Wilmar Roldan.
Cameroon did not sight the goal until minutes later when Eric Choupo-Moting tapped past ’keeper Guillermo Ochoa after the ball had been headed back into the box following a corner, but this was also ruled off-side. Cameroon eventually settled and Stephane M’Bia flashed a header wide from Alexandre Song’s corner in the 18th minute. The Africans spurned a far better chance when Tottenham defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto finished off a mazy run down the left to deliver the ball to Samuel Eto’o, but the Chelsea striker saw his first-time shot go wide.
Constant threat Mexico remained a constant threat and when Choupo-Moting brought down Francisco Rodriguez to hand it a free kick, the Cameroon defence was caught unawares.
With the goal at their mercy, Rafael Marquez and Hector Moreno collided at the back-post and watched the ball go wide.
Mexico put the ball in the net for a second time when dos Santos flashed a header past Itandje off a corner, but this, too, was waved off-side by Roldan.
Cameroon coach Volker Finke replaced defender Cedric Djeugoue with Dany Nounkeu at the start of the second half.
In the 53rd minute, a curling free-kick by Assou-Ekotto, following Hector Moreno’s foul on M’Bia, took a deflection off the Mexican wall and sent Ochoa the wrong way, but the ball flew wide.
Mexico finally had the ball in the net just after the hour when dos Santos saw his low drive parried by Itandje and into the path of Peralta, who drove home from 10 metres out to send the Mexican fans into raptures.
Coach Herrera replaced midfielder Andres Guardado with Marco Fabian and minutes later Manchester United forward Javier Hernandez substituted Peralta.
A chorus of ‘Ole’ began to ring around the stadium as the Mexicans took control, and in the final 10 minutes, Hernandez chased deep in Cameroon territory to cut back for Fabian, who was blocked by a defender. Cameroon threatened in the final five minutes when Eto’o sent Benjamin Moukandjo through on the right but the Nancy midfielder’s drive across goal was blocked by an alert Rodriguez.
Mexico had Ochoa to thank for in the final two minutes when the ’keeper parried Moukandjo’s header off Assou-Ekotto’s delivery.
Mexico almost made it 2-0 when Layun dispossessed a Cameroon defender to pass the ball to Hernandez, but the latter volleyed just over.
