Equatorial Guinea in stunning victory over Senegal

Published on Thursday 26 January 2012 01:55

Hosts Equatorial Guinea scored an injury-time winner to stun Senegal 2-1 in the African Cup of Nations last night to seal a spot in the quarter-finals.

David Alvarez scored in the 94th minute to secure the victory in Group A and eliminate Senegal, one of the pre-tournament favourites, from the competition. Iban Iyanga had headed the unfancied Guineans ahead in the 62nd minute, before Moussa Sow snatched an 89th-minute equalizer.

Sow’s late strike looked to have snatched a draw for Senegal, until Alvarez’ goal prompted Equatorial Guinea’s players to sink to their knees and weep in celebration as fans in the 37,500 Estadio de Bata celebrated.

Senegal coach Amara Traore had dropped captain Mamadou Niang to the bench as he sought improvement from the opening 2-1 loss to Zambia. But his side’s second straight defeat meant they were out.

Libya kept alive hopes of an African Nations Cup finals fairytale by holding Zambia to a 2-2 draw in their Group A match last night. Ahmed Saad scored twice for the north Africans, who overcame the obstacle of last year’s civil war to qualify for the tournament being co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. It was the first point for Libya, who must now beat Senegal in their final match at the weekend to have any chance of progressing to the last eight. Libya lost to Equatorial Guinea in last Saturday’s opening game.

Zambia had to twice fight back in a game delayed by more than an hour because of a torrential downpour that left the pitch virtually unplayable. Workers tried to clear puddles of water before kick off but even then the two sides battled through a punishing 90 minutes in a mud bath.

Meanwhile, Morocco goalkeeper Issam Badda was diagnosed with a form of malaria at the tournament and received a blood transfusion at a hospital. Arsenal forward Marouane Chamakh was also recovering after picking up a stomach illness. It was unclear if both players would be well enough for Morocco’s must-win game against co-hosts Gabon tomorrow.

Eric Gerets’ team fell to a surprise 2-1 loss to Tunisia in their opener on Monday at Libreville’s Stade de l’Amitie, making the match against the home team critical to their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals.

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