Mohamed Bayo’s 98th minute winner saw Guinea progress to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-final round, defeating Equatorial Guinea 1-0 on Sunday night.
In the first half of the game, fouls outnumbered shots on target. Both teams played aggressively, leading to Julian Jeanvier of Guinea receiving a yellow card in the 41st minute. However, after a lackluster 45 minutes, they headed into the break deadlocked at 0-0.
In the second stanza, Equatorial Guinea suffered a setback when Federico Bikoro was shown a straight red card after 56 minutes of play.
Despite being a player down, Equatorial Guinea put their lives on the line in search of a victory in regulation time. Although they missed missed a penalty, they can be proud of their efforts on the day.
Guinea had a numerical advantage over their opponents, but failed to capitalise on the situation, allowing their opponents to apply pressure and turn the table on them, until their winner in the latter stages of the match.
Guinea will now keep their focus on the encounter between Egypt and DR Congo, as they will battle the eventual winner of the match, which is now underway.
While Equatorial Guinea will head back home to reflect on their AFCON 2023 journey.
