Polster pinches a late point

It's a story we've grown only too familiar with over the last 20 years or so. Africans meet Europeans. Africans make Europeans look stale and short on ideas. Africans lead Europeans. Africans bugger it up at the back and let Europeans off the hook. Let's face it folks, if this was a love story, even Mills and Boon would send it back unread.

As it was, the cliche factor was far from all that was wrong with this game. For an hour it was utterly forgettable with neither side able or willing to move the ball effectively out of a desperately crowded midfield. A great goal goes a long way towards erasing drivel from the memory, though, and we got one of those with 13 minutes remaining. Pierre Njanka took off down the left side, skipped past Wolfgang Feiersinger and Peter Schottel and then buried the ball past Michael Konsel.

By then, it was no more than his side deserved. With both teams playing five across the centre, Cameroon's defenders meandering forward and Austria's strikers poking their noses back in search of a bit of ball, there could hardly have been room to breath out there, never mind string a few passes together. The result, predictably, was an endless swopping of possession and a quiet first period for the 'keepers.

In possession terms, Cameroon just about edged it throughout but they lacked a creative force strong enough to assert himself in the middle where Patrick Mboma looked wasted, while up front Francois Omam-Biyik and Samuel Ipoua were easily subdued by their minders.

When the latter departed after 66 minutes, to be replaced up front by Joseph-Desire Job, things finally began to open up. In fact, the first signs of life had come shortly before, Pierre Wome forcing a fine stop from Konsel after being given just a little too much time out on the left hand side. But by the time Job appeared on the scene Austria were starting to tire, particularly out wide where Harald Cerny and Arnold Wetl no longer had the legs to make the runs that had, until then, posed their greatest threat.

It was by no means one way traffic. Toni Polster's 70th-minute free slipped through a five-man wall and almost caught Jacque Songo'o unawares, while Heimo Pfeifenberger's shot a couple of minutes later drew the stop of the game from the veteran Deportivo goalkeeper.

Still, the Africans looked more potent as more of their players found space.

Joseph Ndo sounded the warning with a push forward that lacked a finish, but we didn't have to wait long before seeing how it should be done. Perhaps they should have drove on and looked for a second, but coach Claude Leroy didn't seem to think so afterwards.

"It is," he said, "always disappointing when a late goal by the other team deprives you of victory, but after the first 20 minutes I think I was happy with what we did, especially our younger players."

What, precisely, was the age profile of those defenders hanging about the six-yard box as the game moved into injury-time remains a faintly grey area, but if Leroy was being straight with his public then the attendance list must have been restricted to Mboma and Alphonse Tchami, the only two remaining outfield players who were over 25. Either way, they didn't show for Feiersinger's corner from the right. After Anton Pfeffer headed down, Polster found himself at the head of a short queue to bang home the equaliser.

Well, well, well. Polster pounces to save Austria. There's another ould yarn with a familiar ring to it.