From a hard-fought smash-and-grab in Yaoundé to a stunning debut win in Melong and a last-gasp strike that handed Unisport back the summit, the eleventh round of the MTN Elite One 2025/26 campaign had more than enough to keep the faithful talking all week.
At the Stade Militaire in Yaoundé, the opening fixture of matchday 11 unfolded at a deliberate, almost languid pace — Dynamo de Douala, the visitors, had Gefte Arrey to thank for much of their early energy. The offensive midfielder was the most elusive figure on the pitch during the first half-hour, and it was through his persistence that the move developed, which ultimately unlocked the deadlock.
- Goal: Jules Armand Kooh (31′ — assist: Karim Hamadou)
It was Captain Jules Armand Kooh who delivered the decisive moment at the 31-minute mark, meeting Karim Hamadou’s pass with composure and sending the Bon Ba Djob ahead. That was all Dynamo needed. After the interval, the men from the economic capital tightened their shape, crowded the midfield, and rather comfortably absorbed whatever Fauve Azur could throw at them, which, truth be told, was not a great deal.
Fauve Azur never truly threatened to turn the game around. Their inability to create genuine danger summed up an afternoon that the Yaoundé-based side will want to forget quickly. For Dynamo, though, it was a timely and much-needed lift — their first away victory this season.
There was a rather distinguished spectator at the Stade Militaire for the second game of the afternoon. André Onana, the Indomitable Lions goalkeeper and former Manchester United’s number one, arrived shortly after kick-off and settled in to watch Colombe Sportive du Dja et Lobo put in a convincing performance against Victoria United.
The reigning champions were ruthless. Eyango Priso opened the scoring in the 14th minute, and while that lead held until the break, the second half brought three more goals that extinguished any lingering Victoria hope. Brice Sindjo added a second, Priso swept in his second of the afternoon to make it three, and Sindjo rounded off his own brace to give the final scoreline a particularly emphatic look.
- Colombe goals: Eyango Priso (14′, 86′) · Brice Sindjo (58′, 88′)
- Victoria United goal: Gilfrank Peto (90+) · Red card: Alex Diboto (Victoria)
Opopo’s evening ended with both a consolation and a red card. Gilfrank Peto pulled one back deep in added time, but the dismissal of Alex Diboto—compounding the scoreline—summed up the Limbe side’s day rather neatly. They drop out of the top five as a result.
For Colombe, the three points lift them to seventh place, provisionally, on 14 points.
Panthère du Ndé 0 – 2 Coton Sport
Coton Sport’s Clinical First Half Puts Understaffed Panthère to the Sword
The Panthère du Ndé had something of a mountain to climb before the game had even kicked off. Their midfield metronome, Konrad Nfanseu was away on international duty with the Lions, and head coach Yves Clément Arroga was absent from the dugout due to a bereavement, leaving assistant Justin Kamgue to oversee proceedings from the bench. Under such circumstances, facing one of the division’s most organised outfits was always going to be a mountain to climb.
Coton Sport wasted no time in pressing their advantage. Mohamadou Tanko opened the scoring just 13 minutes in, profiting from a beautiful bit of vision from captain Cyrille D. Une to slide the ball home and give the Cotonculteurs an early grip on the contest. The hosts tried to respond but found the visiting defence resolute and well-organised.
- Goals: Mohamadou Tanko (13′ — assist: Cyrille Don’t Une) · Roger Emmga (37′ — assist: Harrison Ford Djonkep)
Roger Emmga put the result beyond doubt eight minutes before the break. Harrison Ford Djonkep’s clever ball found him in space, and Emmga finished calmly to make it two. Both goals were in the first half, and once they had that cushion, Coton Sport simply shut up shop. The second half offered little or no change. Kamgue’s tactical adjustments improved Panthère’s intensity somewhat, but they were never truly close to finding the net against a disciplined Coton Sport rearguard. It is now two consecutive defeats for the Ndé club, and the next few weeks will require a significant response.
PWD Bamenda 2 – 1 Aigle Royal de Menoua
PWD Bamenda’s home record remains unblemished, and it was built this time on character as much as quality. Aigle Royal de Menoua came to the Bamenda Proximity Stadium at Mendakwe with a good contingent of former PWD players, including Abanke, Tony Ashu, Ndiforchu Blaise, and Julien Patrice Belemb. With genuine ambition, and for a spell in the first half, they looked like they might just take something from the day.
Julien Patrice Belemb—assisted by Eden Creol Ymele—gave Aigle the lead in the 42nd minute, silencing a crowd that had been firmly behind the home side from the first whistle. It looked, for a moment, like an upset might be brewing.
- Aigle Royal de Menoua goal: Julien Patrice Belemb (42′ — assist: Eden Creol Ymele)
- PWD Bamenda goals: Aliyu Yaya (71′ — assist: Fabrice Ndeh Nsoh) · Talikong Elwood (88′ — assist: Aliyu Yaya)
But PWD never gave up. The Abakwa Boys responded with real pride. Aliyu Yaya levelled matters in the 71st minute, with Fabrice Ndeh Nsoh providing the assist, before the same Aliyu Yaya – now a provider himself – set up Talikong Elwood to score the dramatic winner with just two minutes remaining.
Another home win on the Mendakwe fortress reputation. PWD’s supporters went home happy, and their team’s standing in the table is all the better for it.
Stade Renard 4 – 1 Gazelle FA
Essiane’s Hat-Trick Finally Gives Stade Renard Something to Celebrate in Melong
Eleven games into the season, and Stade Renard had not yet known the taste of victory. That barren run came to an emphatic end at the Stade Municipal de Melong on Sunday, and the manner of it—a four-goal demolition of Gazelle FA—made up for every week of waiting.
The man of the moment was Thorgan Essiane, who delivered a hat-trick that sent the Melong fans into raptures. The quality of the opposition will no doubt feature in any honest assessment, but that does not diminish what a day of genuine celebration for a club that badly needed one.
- Stade Renard goals: Thorgan Essiane (hat-trick) · Moustapha Ngae
- Gazelle FA goal: Serge Daura (78′ pen.)
Moustapha Ngae added a fourth to complete the rout before Serge Daura’s penalty in the 78th minute gave Gazelle a late consolation that barely softened the blow. It stands as Gazelle’s heaviest defeat since winning promotion to the top flight—a result their coach Aliou Kada was quick to put into perspective after the final whistle, insisting the scoreline did not reflect the true shape of the game.
Perhaps not. But for Stade Renard and their president — who was generous in his financial acknowledgement of the players’ achievement — this was a day that will be remembered fondly. First wins are always special, and this one, under the auspices of new coach Emmanuel Ndombe Bosso, arrived with considerable style.
Heavy rain fell over Melong for the late kick-off between two sides at very different ends of the table, and the conditions lent the match a suitably attritional quality. Aigle Royal du Moungo, anchored near the foot of the standings, did all they could to not lose this game. They gave Unisport a hard time all through the game.
For 90 minutes, neither side could find a way through. The game seemed destined for a draw that would have left everyone mildly frustrated. Then, just as the whistle seemed imminent, Sosthène Mbouzikeu appeared from nowhere in the 91st minute and drove the ball home to break the deadlock.
- Goal: Sosthène Mbouzikeu (90+1′)
It was the kind of late winner that confirms a team’s title credentials. Unisport du Haut Nkam had been at the summit of the Elite One table earlier in the season, and that late goal ensured they reclaimed their position at the top, edging ahead of Coton Sport on the strength of this result.
The title race, as it stands, is very much alive.
The curtain came down on matchday 11 at the Stade Annexe 1 Omnisports in Yaoundé, where a capital derby of sorts — two clubs from the same city—promised more than the scoreline might suggest. It was tight, as these things tend to be, and for long periods the question was not so much who would win but whether anyone would win at all.
Canon found the answer through Koulou, who converted in the 73rd minute — the ball arriving thanks to a precise delivery from Zacharie Ebogo. One goal, and it turned out to be enough.
- Goal: Koulou (73′ — assist: Zacharie Ebogo)
This is now Canon’s second home win. For AS Fortuna, it is another narrow defeat that leaves them hovering in a precarious mid-table position with plenty of work still to do.