Minnow Burkina Faso edged Tunisia 1-0 to join Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations semifinals on Saturday after the host beat Gambia 2-0 with a double from Karl Toko-Ekambi.
French-born Lyon striker Toko-Ekambi scored twice in the space of eight minutes at the start of the second half in Douala as Cameroon played its first game at the tournament since the deadly crush in Yaounde.
His goals led to ecstatic scenes of celebration and they were just rewards for Cameroon, who completely dominated against a Gambian side appearing in its first Cup of Nations.
"We are proud to be in the semifinals," said Toko-Ekambi and Cameroon marches on to a last-four showdown with Egypt or Morocco as it continues the quest for a sixth continental title.
The host nation's first and only visit to the country's economic capital in the tournament meant there was always going to be a frenzied atmosphere in the port city as fans descended on the 50,000-capacity Japoma Stadium.
The Indomitable Lions had not taken to the field since Monday's tragic crush prior to their game against the Comoros in Yaounde which left eight dead and 38 injured.
Authorities in Douala massively stepped up their security operation around the ground in an attempt to avoid any repeat.
Army officers with rifles stood atop buildings lining the route to the stadium while vast numbers of police patrolled the streets and watched over entrances.
On the eve of the game, Cameroon's sports minister announced a raft of measures aimed at avoiding a repeat of the Olembe disaster.
Those included stopping the distribution of free tickets and banning children under 11 from attending games.
The minister also urged supporters to arrive earlier, and the gates at Japoma opened five hours prior to the kickoff.
That meant the deafening noise of vuvuzelas filled the air well before the Cameroon team arrived, dancing its way from the bus to the changing room, and only stopped momentarily for the silence in memory of the crush victims.
Coronavirus restrictions put in place for the AFCON have limited crowds to a maximum of 60% of capacity but that is raised to 80% when the host nation plays, and the official attendance was 36,259.
The opening goal arrived five minutes into the second half as right back Collins Fai crossed and Toko-Ekambi headed into the far corner.
Out came the vuvuzelas, and the crowd was on their feet again in the 57th minute as the impressive Martin Hongla sent a low ball across goal for Toko-Ekambi to finish emphatically for his fifth goal at this AFCON.
Captain Vincent Aboubakar, with six, is the only player with more and together they have scored all of Cameroon's goals.
'Emotional'
Pending confirmation from the Confederation of African Football, Cameroon is now due to return to Olembe for their semifinal Thursday.
In Garoua in the north of the country, Dango Ouattara scored the only goal of the game on the stroke of half-time as Burkina Faso edged Tunisia to set up a semifinal against either Senegal or Equatorial Guinea.
Ouattara, just 19, then turned villain eight minutes from time when a yellow card for elbowing Ali Maaloul was changed to a red after the referee from Botswana checked the touchline video assistant referee (VAR) monitor.
Success for Burkina Faso came just five days after the landlocked west African country was plunged into political uncertainty when President Roch Marc Christian Kabore was ousted in a military coup.
"I'm very emotional. Allow me to dedicate this win to our people who are being tested by current events," said Burkina Faso coach Kamou Malo.
"The Burkinabe people will always stand up, just like the team. We put in the time today and we want to go all the way in this competition."
The remaining quarterfinals will both be played Sunday at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, with Senegal hoping to have Sadio Mane back after he suffered a suspected concussion in their last-16 win over Cape Verde.
