Cameroon edged into the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals but were made to work hard by minnows Comoros, holding on for a 2-1 victory in Olembe. The result was all the more remarkable as Comoros started the game with an outfield player in goal, and were down to 10 men just seven minutes later. Chaker Alhadhur was the left-back tasked with keeping goal but before he was called into action, the Comoros captain Jimmy Abdou was sent off for a foul on Nicolas Noumi. It appeared to be a question of how many Cameroon would score when the hosts went ahead with their first shot on target, as Karl Toko Ekambi found the bottom corner just before the half-hour mark. Comoros almost levelled immediately, however, with home keeper André Onana forced into a dramatic double save. Alhadhur, playing in goal after injuries and Covid ruled out all three goalkeepers in the Comoros squad, made a superb double save of his own early in the second half. In the 70th minute, Vincent Aboubakar scored his sixth goal of the tournament, latching on to a through ball to double the hosts’ lead. Comoros, who were also without quarantined head coach Amir Abdou, still would not admit defeat. A superb long-range free kick from Youssouf M’Changama nine minutes from time threatened an extraordinary comeback, but the hosts held on. The result was overshadowed by reports of a deadly crush outside the ground before kick-off, with at least six people killed and more than 40 others injured. Gambia continue run with win over Guinea Cameroon will face the Gambia in the quarter-finals after they continued their unexpected run at the finals with a 1-0 win over Guinea earlier on Monday. Musa Barrow scored the 71st-minute winner in Bafoussam to settle a game where both sides finished with 10 men. Barrow, one of the outstanding performers at the tournament, was set up by a defence-splitting pass from Yusupha Bobb. The Bologna forward then took the ball away from the Guinea defence with his right foot, before finishing emphatically with his left foot. The goal opened up what had been a tense contest with Guinea, who were missing their suspended captain, Naby Keïta, forced to push forward in search of an equaliser. Ibrahima Conté thought he had found it when he turned home a cross at close range, but the defender was flagged offside – with the VAR backing the on-field decision. Guinea then hit the woodwork twice in quick succession, a cross rebounding off the post before the Gambia keeper Baboucarr Gaye spectacularly tipped José Kanté’s shot on to the crossbar. There was also an appeal for handball after Omar Colley blocked a follow-up effort. In the closing minutes, Conté and the Gambia substitute Yusupha Njie were both dismissed for picking up two bookings as the underdogs held on. The Scorpions came into their first-ever Afcon finals ranked 150th in the world, the lowest of all the 24 participants – but followed up group-stage wins over Mauritania and Tunisia with another here, made all the more impressive by the fact two players had to pull out of the game an hour before kick-off due to food poisoning.