Guinea thought they had equalised after 77 minutes when Ibrahima Conte pushed a cross into the net at the back post, but his celebrations were cut short with the first assistant referee’s flag up for offside. The VAR confirmed as much.
Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) first timers Gambia beat Guinea 1-0 in Bafoussam on Monday evening as the Scorpions progressed to the quarter finals in their first ever attempt. Gambia who picked up two wins and a draw in the group phase remained unbeaten.
They replicated the same feat achieved by Madagascar when they progressed to the quarters of the 2019 showpiece in their first ever attempt.
Musa Barrow scored the most important goal in the 71st minute in a match that both sides ended with 10 men after two late red cards.
Gambian Yusupha Njie was sent off with two minutes of regulation time to play for a second yellow card after elbowing an opponent. Guinea’s Ibrahima Conte was also shown a second yellow card in the second minute of added time, for a similar offense.
Guinea missed talisman Naby Keita who was serving a one match suspension after picking two yellow cards in the group stages and his absence and influence was evident for the Sylli Nationale.
The first half was cagy, none of the two sides being adventurous enough. Barrow and Mohamed Bayo had the half’s only two chances on target with both their shots saved by the keeper.
In the second half, the intensity picked up a notch higher with both sides now eager to get a goal that would send them into comfort.
It was the Gambians who saw the back of the net first when Barrow was sent through with a brilliant pass from Yusupha Bobb. Barrow did brilliantly to turn away from his marker before unleashing a low shot that beat the keeper and into the net.
Guinea thought they had equalised after 77 minutes when Ibrahima Conte pushed a cross into the net at the back post, but his celebrations were cut short with the first assistant referee’s flag up for offside. The VAR confirmed as much.
As the game wore on, so did Guinea’s pressure to try and find the equalizer. However, they could not get to the end of it, Gambia holding on to make history for their nation.