Congo edged closer to qualifying to the knock-out stage of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea following a 1-0 win over erstwhile group leaders Ganon in a Group A match played in Bata on Wednesday.

Following a goalless first half which saw Gabon dominate amd come close to scoring through Frederic Bulot early on, Prince Oniangue put Congo ahead three minutes into the second half.

Bulot then squandered Gabon’s best chance of the match when he failed to convert into an open goal, as Congo held on to claim a first win at the competition in 41 years.

The result put Congo top of Group A with four points from two matches, a point ahead of second placed Gabon, and needing just a point from their final group match against Burkina Faso on Sunday to guarantee passage to the next stage.

The Burkinabes on their part remained bottom of the group, still without a win or a goal even, following a goalless draw with host nation Equatorial Guinea in a match Alain Traore struck the host’s woodwork twice in the first half.

Traore was first denied from a 30-yard freekick in the 20th minute before seeing an effort pushed on to the post by Eq. Guinea goalkeeper Felipe Ovono five minutes before half time.

Bertrand Traore also had an effort kept out by Ovono as the hosts played out a second draw at the competition, leaving them and Burkina Faso needing nothing less than a win in their respective final group matches on Sunday to reach the next round.