Guinea scored with the last kick of the Guinea derby to progress to the Quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations at the expense of Group A winners, Equatorial Guinea.
The opening half produced few chances and neither team could register a shot on target. Mohammed Bayo hit the side netting for Guinea from a tight angle and Saul Coco’s freekick for Equatorial Guinea couldn’t go beyond the wall.
The second half was much better as both teams created clear-cut chances to break the deadlock. Top scorer in the competition so far, Emilio Nsue had a chance to score his sixth goal of the competition as he controlled a pass in the box with his chest, but his volley went wide.
A few minutes later, Guinea thought they had taken the lead as Mony Konate headed home from a free kick but he was deemed to be offside and the goal didn’t stand.
Equatorial Guinea suffered a significant setback in the game when Federico Bikoro was given his marching orders for a high tackle on Bayo, giving Guinea the numerical advantage for the remaining 35 minutes.
However, this didn’t phase Equatorial Guinea, who finished top of Group A over host Nations Ivory Coast and Nigeria. They kept attacking despite a man disadvantage and were awarded a penalty to go ahead after Ivan Salvador was tripped in the box. Nsue stepped up but hit the outside post despite sending the goalkeeper the wrong way and Equatorial Guinea missed a very big opportunity to take the lead.
Guinea brought in Stuttgart’s star striker Serrhou Guirassy to bolster their attack and he almost had an immediate significant impact as his goal-bound header was tipped over by Jesus Owono.
Deep into added time, Guinea finally got the winner with what was the final touch of the game as Guinea’s other striker Bayo headed on from the near post as Guinea progressed to the Quarterfinals of the competition.
