Nations with an unconvincing 1-1 draw against 10-man Guinea in the
final round of group matches on Wednesday.
Guinea were eliminated when Mali came from behind to beat Botswana 2-1
in Group D's other game to go through.
Ghana, who needed only a point to progress as group winners, took the
lead in the 28th minute at Stade de Franceville through a long-range
volley by Emmanuel Agyemang Badu.
Guinea equalised in first-half stoppage time when Abdoul Razzagui
Camara's attempted cross looped over the goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey and
into the far corner, but faded away after Mamadou Diouldé Bah was sent
off with 20 minutes to go.
The results left Ghana atop the standings with seven points, followed
by Mali on six and Guinea on four.
Badu put Ghana ahead with a high-class strike, flicking up a
half-clearance on the edge of the penalty area and volleying past
Moussa Yattara and into the top left corner.
Guinea had good chances, though, being denied an early shout for a
penalty and having a 26th-minute effort by Ibrahima Traoré ruled out
for offside.
Ghana were also denied a penalty five minutes before half-time when
Asamoah Gyan pushed the ball past Bobo Baldé and was clearly held back
by the big defender.
Kwarasey pulled off a point-blank save at the other end a minute later
to deny Guinea, as the action swung rapidly from one goal to the
other.
Camara then equalised in added time to give Guinea a huge boost. The
left-winger appeared to be attempting a deep cross from out wide, but
the ball went sailing over Kwarasey and into the far corner of the net
for 1-1.
Bangoura was denied by Kwarasey early in the second half as Ghana
began to look uncomfortable against Guinea's pacey forward line.
Pascal Feindouno drove a fierce ball across goal but Zayatte could not
quite connect.
Guinea pushed forward desperately and were on top as they chased the
win they needed, with the strikers Sadio Diallo and Ismaël Bangoura
both coming close.
Ghana still had an outside chance of being eliminated if they lost but
held on, although the Black Stars did not hit top gear against a
tricky Guinea side.
"We didn't want to get into a situation of problems," Ghana's
assistant coach, Kwesi Appiah, said. "It was just important that we
qualified for the next stage. At the end of the day, the most
important thing is making sure you qualify."
Guinea's coach, Michel Dussuyer, congratulated his players for working
hard, and "wanting to win" but said the South African referee Daniel
Bennett made some crucial mistakes including Bah's first yellow card.
"We all know that Ghana is a great team but it didn't need the help of
the referee," Dussuyer said. "I am very disappointed with the
performance of the referee."
Ghana will play Tunisia in the quarter-finals, with Mali facing the
co-hosts Gabon.
The other last-eight fixtures are Zambia v Sudan and Ivory Coast v
Equatorial Guinea, the other co-hosts
Source: peacefmonline
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