Ghana Edges Past South Africa to Reach the Last Eight

A perfectly placed diving header by Andre Ayew's late in a closely contested game was enough to punch Ghana's ticket into quarter-finals of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations, following a 2-1 win over South Africa at Estadio de Mongomo on Tuesday night to emerge as the Group C winners. South Africa shot into the lead in the 17th minute with an untimely stunner from outside the box by Mandla Masango, who caught Ghana's goalkeeper Razak Braimah completely off guard.

The Black Stars finally got themselves back into the game in the 73rd minute through an unlikely source, center-half John Boye, who fired in a low drive under a diving shot-stopper Nhlanhla Khuzwayo, with Andre Ayew providing a spectacular assist. Ayew went on to grab the winner ten minutes later (83rd minute) through a diving header off a well delivered cross by left-back Abdul Baba Rahman.

Ghana shot to the summit of Group C, finishing on six points with Algeria, who emerged as runners-up after edging past the Teranga Lions of Senegal by 2-0 in the other game played concurrently in Malabo.

The victory for Ghana marked their first at the Nations Cup over Bafana Bafana of South Africa following two losses and a tie in their past meetings in the competition. The two sides kicked off the game on a very cautious note, with Ghana threatening the South African goal twice within the first sixth minutes.

Jonathan Mensah managed to head the ball off a well placed Mubarak Wakaso free-kick but narrowly missed the target and shortly after, South Africa's goalkeeper Khuzwayo struggled to hold on to a low shot, which got in Jordan Ayew's path but his effort was cleared off the line by Mathoho for a corner.

South Africa managed to jump into the lead against the run of play in the 17th minute, forcing Ghana to push forward to get back on level pegging. Abdul Baba Rahman powered in a shot from outside the South African penalty box in the 33rd minute but goalkeeper Khuzwayo managed to parry the ball to safety. Moments later, South African forward Bongani Ndulula tested goalkeeper Razak Braimah who did well to dive quickly to stop a goal-bound header aimed towards the near post.

In the 48th minute, Black Stars skipper Asamoah Gyan's curled in a free-kick from the edge of the South African box but he missed the target by inches as Ghana kept pushing forward in search of an equalizer.

Mubarak Wakaso also called on the Bafana Bafana goalkeeper to make a save from a low driven shot from yards out but his attempt on goal was pushed out of play for a corner. Wakaso had yet another chance from distance but failed to find the target.

Ghana finally got their reward in the 73rd minute after persistently knocking on South Africa's door through substitute John Boye, who came on for the injured Daniel Amartey. Following the equalizer, substitute Kwesi Appiah nearly gave the Black Stars the lead but his goal-bound shot, was pushed out for a corner by the South African goalkeeper.

The relentless pressure by the Ghanaian players paid off when Andre Ayew's header hit the back of the net and that was enough to seal Ghana's place in the last eight stage of the African football showpiece event.

Black Stars Lineup:
Razak Braimah, Harrison Afful, Abdul Baba Rahman, Daniel Amartey/John Boye, Jonathan Mensah, Ebenezer Afriyie Acquah/Emmanuel Agyemang Badu, Mubarak Wakaso, Andre Ayew, Christian Atsu, Asamoah Gyan, Jordan Ayew/Kwesi Appiah