Senegal on brink of spot in Nations Cup last eight

MONGOMO, Equatorial Guinea (Reuters) - Senegal need a point from their last Group C tie to reach the African Nations Cup quarter-finals after drawing with South Africa while Ghana raised their hopes with a late winner against Algeria on Friday. Senegal are top with four points followed by Algeria and Ghana on three and South Africa on one with one match to go.

(Reuters)

All four countries have a chance to qualify but a draw against Algeria in Malabo on Tuesday will be enough to take the Senegalese through.

Victory for Ghana over South Africa at the same time in Mongomo will also earn them a ticket to the last eight.

Ghana scored two minutes into stoppage time against Algeria to secure a 1-0 victory.

Asamoah Gyan returned from a mild bout of malaria to grab the winner, outpacing Carl Medjani to net from a tight angle. Ghana, who have reached the semi-finals four times in a row, had lost their opening game in similar fashion to Senegal on Monday. "I didn't like it in the last game when they scored in the last minute but we have now scored in the last minute too. We deserved it, we were the better team," said a smiling Avram Grant after his second match as coach of the Black Stars. South Africa, who lost their opener to Algeria after a comedy of errors, again let slip a lead.

Oupa Manyisa was unmarked at the back post to tuck the ball away after Senegal failed to clear a cross from Anele Ngcongca in the 47th minute. The advantage lasted 13 minutes before Kara Mbodji equalised with a powerful header. "We again had the better of the chances but we didn't shoot," said South Africa coach Ephraim Mashaba.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez; [e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail])