A late Ryan Mendes penalty was enough to send Cape Verde to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations as they beat Mauritania 1-0 at the Felix Houphouet Boigny stadium in Ivory Coast.
The decisive moment of the match came in the 85th minute, as Mauritania keeper, Niasse brought down substitute Gilson Tavares Benchimol after he intercepted a poor header back from defender Yassin El Welly.
Egyptian referee showed no hesitation, as he pointed to the spot awarding the Islanders a penalty.
Ryan Mendes who plays for Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk, stepped up, smashing the penalty home and his second goal of the tournament.
The goal made history for the tiny Atlantic Ocean-nation as this was the first time in three tournaments that they have won a knockout-phase match at the AFCON.
Mauritania on the other hand were looking to extend their fine form at the tournament having won a match after 9 attempts, beating and eliminating Africa heavyweights Algeria 1-0.
The Blue Sharks advance to the next round after holding on through the last minutes of the match, and they set up a Quarter-final match against either Morocco or South Africa which will be played in Yamoussoukro this Saturday.
John Njuguna
