Jan 19, 2010, 18:00 GMT
Luanda - World Cup finalists Ghana on Tuesday qualified for the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with a hard-fought 1- 0 win over a ten-man Burkina Faso in Luanda.
Dede Ayew's first half strike was enough to see the Black Stars finish second in Group B behind the Ivory Coast, who finished with four points. Ghana have three points, while Burkina Faso finished with one point.
The fourth team in the group, Togo, withdrew before the start of the competition after a deadly ambush on their team-bus had resulted in the death of the bus driver, the assistant coach and the team's press officer.
Although Ghana went into the game knowing that they had to win, it was the Stallions who made all the early running in front of a disappointing crowd of just a few thousand in the 50,000 seater stadium in Luanda.
German-based Jonathan Pitroipa and Madi Panandetiguiri created some problems for the Ghana defence, but failed to find the back of the net for their side.
Against the run of play Ghana took the lead when a free-kick from Samuel Inkoom found the head of Ayew on the half hour mark and the son of the former African Footballer of the Year Abedi Pele headed home.
In the second half, both sides created some chances, with Matthew Amoah coming close for the Black Stars after a cross into the area from Haminu Dramani, while Pitroipa continued looking dangerous every time he came close to the Ghana area.
Any hopes Burkina Faso had of coming back into the game were effectively quashed in the 66th minute when Mamadou Tall was sent off rather harshly for what Seychelles referee Eddy Maillet perceived was an attempt to elbow an opponent.
Dramani should have doubled Ghana's score in the 76th minute when he had a free shot at goal, but hit the side netting.
Ghana then held onto the 1-0 victory they needed to advance to the quarter-finals, where they will face the hosts Angola in Luanda on Sunday. The Ivory Coast, meanwhile, will play against Algeria in their quarter-final scheduled on the same day for Cabinda.
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