One of the pre-tournament favourites to be crowned African champions of 2012, Senegal crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations at the first hurdle after two consecutive defeats in the group stage.
After an opening day 2-1 defeat to Zambia, the theory was that it could only get better for the Lions of Taranga, playing against Equatorial Guinea, the lowest ranked of all the sides in the tournament.
Yet, against all expert opinion, the host nation produced the shock of the tournament so far to pull-off an unlikely 2-1 victory. Randy had put the home side in front after 62 minutes, only for Lille hitman Moussa Sow to level just a minute from time – a result which would have kept Senegalese hopes alive into the final group-game.
Alas, it was not meant to be, as in the fourth minute of injury time, Spanish third division-based defender Kily turned the ball home to send the host city into raptures. The full-time whistle brought tears and jubilation for the team in red football kits as they celebrated reaching the Quarter-Finals in their first ever Cup of Nations.
Captain of Equatorial Guinea, Juvenal said post-match: “We were a little lucky to score the second goal in the last few seconds! It’s fantastic for us and our supporters. We’re very hopeful for the future.
“Now we want to beat Zambia in our last match because we want to finish top of the group.”