Equatorial Guinea became the first side through to the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals and in doing so have ended Senegal's tournament dreams after a 2-1 victory in their Group A clash on Wednesday.
The kick-off for the match was delayed after an afternoon deluge waterlogged the pitch, but the scenes in Bata were certainly worth waiting for as wild celebrations ensued at the final whistle.
It was a remarkable piece of history, as the minnow nation of Equatorial Guinea, playing in their first continental finals with players mostly imported from outside the country's borders, downed one of the giants of the continent: a Senegalese side who were much-fancied in the competition.
There looked to be only one winner in the first half as Senegal piled on the pressure and missed a host of chances, with Pappis Cisse and Demba Ba among the major culprits.
The hosts offered little up at the other end and Senegal's goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul was a virtual spectator.
But the second half was a completely different affair, with the home side seemingly growing in confidence with each passing minute.
They had the lead just past the hour-mark when Randy headed home an inviting Kily cross as the Senegalese defence stood ball-watching, just as they had against Zambia over the weekend.
Senegal pushed forward in numbers with the forwards, despite finding themselves in good positions, looking for the final pass rather than trying to test Danilo in the home goal.
They were level just a minute from time, and it looked as though they had lived to fight another day. Mamadou Niang shot through a crowd of players and the ball fell for Moussa Sow to turn home into the roof of the net.
Senegal pushed forward in search of a winner too, but it may have been to their detriment because it left gaping holes between the defence and midfield.
David Alvarez was the one to profit, writing his name into the history books on this famous night with a pile-driver from 30 yards that left Coundoul with no chance.
Equatorial now have six points from their two games, followed by Zambia (four), Libya (one) and Senegal (zero).
They are assured of a quarterfinal place and look set to be joined by the Zambians, if they can get at least one point from the teams' meeting on Sunday, or if Libya fails to take full points off Senegal in their match-up on the same day.
