Bayo scores late winner to send Guinea to AFCON quarter-finals

Guinea are through to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations after a dramatic 1-0 victory over 10-man Equatorial Guinea on Sunday. Mohamed Bayo scored the winning goal with just 22 seconds left in stoppage time to break Equatorial Guinean hearts.

In a poor-quality match that looked destined for extra time, Bayo headed home a cross from Ibrahim Diakite to spark wild Guinea celebrations. The majority of the eight minutes of stoppage time came after a lengthy VAR review of a penalty awarded to Equatorial Guinea for a foul by Sekou Sylla on Iban Salvador. Captain Emilio Nsue struck the penalty against the post in an agonising miss.

Chances were few and far between in a turgid first half, with Bayo’s early shot wide the only noteworthy attempt. The second half brought more action, with Nsue volleying over from 10 yards soon after the break. Guinea briefly thought they had scored when Mory Konate headed in a free kick, but the flag correctly went up for offside.

The complexion of the match changed in the 55th minute when Federico Bikoro was shown a red card for a dangerous high challenge on Bayo. The 10 men of Equatorial Guinea were handed a lifeline with a penalty after a VAR review of Sylla’s foul on Salvador. However, Nsue could only strike the post with his spot kick, squandering Equatorial Guinea’s best chance.

Despite being a man down, Equatorial Guinea held firm for most of the second half. Guinea rarely threatened, with substitute Serhou Guirassy’s header their best effort. That was until Bayo popped up in the 122nd minute to break Equatorial Guinea’s hearts and send Guinea into the last eight.