Serhou Guirassy marked his first game as Guinea captain with the winner against Kenya, keeping his side firmly in the hunt for AFCON qualification.
The regular scorer for Borussia Dortmund struck after 32 minutes to settle a Group D matchday two fixture watched by a capacity 25,000 crowd in Conakry.
When full-back Sekou Sylla burst into the penalty area and was blocked by a Kenyan, the ball broke loose to Guirassy, who fired past goalkeeper Bryne Odhiambo.
Earlier in the opening half, the tall 30-year-old Guinea striker saw his free-kick rebound off the woodwork.
Guirassy was a constant threat and it took a brave block by Kenya centre-back Frank Odhiambo to prevent the match-winner scoring again soon after half-time.
He led Guinea after Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte made four changes to the team beaten in South Africa last Saturday, including dropping captain and centre-back Saidou Sow.
South Africa top the table after two rounds with six points having trounced Eritrea 5-0 on Wednesday. Guinea have three points and Kenya and Eritrea one each.
Co-hosts Kenya qualify automatically for the 2027 AFCON and are involved in the qualifiers to gain competitive match practice. The other three countries are chasing one qualifying place.
