Senegal coach Allou Cisse left gutted after AFCON quarter-final defeat to Cameroon

Senegal coach, Aliou Cisse (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

SENEGAL coach Aliou Cisse said their 2017 African Nations Cup quarter-final defeat to Cameroon was hard to take after going down 5-4 on penalties on Saturday.

The two African giants played to a goalless draw over 120 minutes, meaning the tie would be decided from the spot, where Liverpool star Saido Mane saw his effort saved by Cameroon goalkeeper Joseph Ondoa to send the Teranga Lions crashing out.

And, speaking after the loss, a heartbroken Cisse told SuperSport: “The elimination is not easy for us. It is hard for us and the country who were expecting so much from us. I feel sorry for the players who wanted to write their own piece of history.

“It is a big disappointment for me and the entire team. I’m the first person to feel their pain. It is very hard for us in the dressing room but we can raise our heads high.

“The Cameroonian defence was compact from the start until the end. We created several opportunities but they resisted all our attacks.

“We were not collective up front and missed a lot of chances. What we missed today was the fact that some players failed to realise that they cannot do it alone.”

Cameroon will now go on to face either DR Congo or Ghana in the semi-final, while the other last-four clash pits Burkina Faso against either Egypt or Morocco. Kickoff.com