Christian Atsu brace sinks Guinea

The Black Stars took the lead as early as the third minute after a great run down the left found Andre Ayew who held up the ball well before backheeling to an un-marked Christian Atsu who slotted home from close range.

Idrissa Sylla was the dangerman for Guinea upfront, yet the forward’s long-range effort on 14 minutes trickled wide before failing to trouble Ghana’s goalkeeper Naby Yattara with a tame effort three minutes later.

Avram Grant’s charges had their tails up following their early goal, but failed to take their opportunities after wasting two free-kicks in quick succession.

Despite edging the possession stats in the first half, Guinea had nothing to show for their efforts, and were dealt a sucker punch just one minute before the break as a defensive blunder by Baissama Sankoh who failed to clear a back-pass allowed Ghanian striker Kwesi Appiah to latch onto a loose ball and slot home to double his side’s lead.

Guinea began the second half needing a goal, and came close on 47 minutes as captain Ibrahima Traoré connected with Fodé Camara’s cross, but he could not direct his header with any precision goalwards.

Mubarak Wakaso, an ever-present figure in Ghana’s midfield, then had two chances of his own, yet struck both wide of the target as Ghana looked to increase their lead.

And that they did, in fine style as Atsu breezed past his marker on the right before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed strike from outside the box to hand his side a 3-0 lead.

Skipper Asamoah Gyan was keen to get his name on the scoresheet as well, but couldn’t direct his powerful header on target.

Even with their lead, Ghana continued to pile forward, as Abdoulaye Cissé was called upon to clear the danger and prevent his side from conceding a fourth.

The match turned ugly in the dying stages as Guinea goalkeeper Naby Yattara rushed out towards an oncoming Gyan, catching him squarely with a studs-up challenge for which he saw red.

The resulting free-kick was the last kick of the game as Ghana secured their spot in the tournament’s semi-final, where they face hosts Equatorial Guinea in their match-up on Thursday evening. Kick Off.com