Ghana storm past Guinea into final
7 Feb 2015 11:30 PM GMT
Four-time champions Ghana reached their ninth Africa Cup of Nations final by beating hosts Equatorial Guinea 3-0 in a game that was disrupted by fan violence.
Ghana will play the final showdown against Cote d’Ivoire in port city Bata Sunday, which will be a repeat of the 1992 final won 11-10 on penalties by Cote d’Ivoire after 120 goalless minutes in Dakar.
The semifinal Thursday descended into chaos after the third goal, and Gabonese referee Eric Otogo-Castane soon halted the match in the 82nd minute. It resumed after about a 40-minute delay, and finished soon after. With violent home supporters launching missiles and water bottles onto terrified Ghana fans as well as onto the pitch at the 15,000-seater Estadio de Malabo, riot police had to use batons to protect the players from incensed rival fans and use tear gas to disperse troublemakers in the crowd.
Ghana took control of the match with double-strike just before the half as Jordan Ayew opened the scoring in the 42nd minute with a penalty and Wakaso Mubarak made it 2-0 a minute into first-half stoppage time. Andre Ayew added a third goal in the 75th minute. With about nine minutes left to play, the match was suspended for nearly 45 minutes after hundreds of spectators came out of the stands to start the chaos.
Ghana will play the final showdown against Cote d’Ivoire in port city Bata Sunday, which will be a repeat of the 1992 final won 11-10 on penalties by Cote d’Ivoire after 120 goalless minutes in Dakar.
The semifinal Thursday descended into chaos after the third goal, and Gabonese referee Eric Otogo-Castane soon halted the match in the 82nd minute. It resumed after about a 40-minute delay, and finished soon after. With violent home supporters launching missiles and water bottles onto terrified Ghana fans as well as onto the pitch at the 15,000-seater Estadio de Malabo, riot police had to use batons to protect the players from incensed rival fans and use tear gas to disperse troublemakers in the crowd.
Ghana took control of the match with double-strike just before the half as Jordan Ayew opened the scoring in the 42nd minute with a penalty and Wakaso Mubarak made it 2-0 a minute into first-half stoppage time. Andre Ayew added a third goal in the 75th minute. With about nine minutes left to play, the match was suspended for nearly 45 minutes after hundreds of spectators came out of the stands to start the chaos.
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