Guirassy strike gives Guinea crucial win over Kenya in AFCON 2027 qualifier

Serhou Guirassy scored the only goal as Guinea bounced back from their opening defeat to beat Kenya 1-0 in their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations PAMOJA 2027 qualifier in Conakry on Thursday.

The Borussia Dortmund forward struck in the 32nd minute at the 28 September Stadium to give Paulo Duarte's side their first points in Group D after a 2-1 defeat away to South Africa on Matchday One.

The victory moves Guinea into second place with three points, three behind leaders South Africa, who maintained their perfect start with a 5-0 win over Eritrea on Wednesday.

Kenya remain on one point after following their opening 1-1 draw against Eritrea with defeat, although the Harambee Stars are already guaranteed a place at PAMOJA 2027 as co-hosts.

That leaves South Africa, Guinea and Eritrea competing to become the highest-placed non-host nation in the group and secure the remaining qualification place.

Guirassy makes pressure count

Guinea made the stronger start in Conakry and came close to opening the scoring when Guirassy's free-kick struck the woodwork.

Kenya also threatened, with Micah Obiero breaking through the Guinea defence in the 10th minute before goalkeeper Mohamed Camara denied him.

The hosts continued to create the better opportunities, with Abdoul Karim Traoré shooting wide after being found by Guirassy.

Guirassy eventually provided the breakthrough shortly after the half-hour mark, driving forward and beating the Kenyan defence before finding the net to give Guinea a deserved advantage.

Kenya goalkeeper Byrne Omondi prevented the hosts from extending their lead before half-time, denying both Traoré and Guirassy.

Kenya unable to find equaliser

Kenya coach Benni McCarthy responded at the interval by introducing Ryan Ogam, scorer of their late equaliser against Eritrea, and Timothy Ouma.

Ogam almost made an immediate impact, creating space inside the penalty area in the 55th minute, but Camara produced an important save to preserve Guinea's lead.

McCarthy made further attacking changes as Kenya searched for an equaliser, including introducing Sharif Musa and handing Javan Omondi his debut.

But Guinea protected their narrow advantage through the closing stages to secure a valuable first victory of the campaign.

Duarte's side now have three points from two matches, while South Africa lead Group D with six following victories over Guinea and Eritrea.