Ghana and Equatorial Guinea faced off in the semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations in the Estadio de Malabo.
Avram Grant's men were looking to reach their first final since 2010, while the host nation were hopeful of advancing to the title match for the first time in their history.
Ghana advanced with a comfortable 3-0 victory as Jordan Ayew, Wakaso Mubarak and Andre Ayew fired them into the final, where they will take on the Ivory Coast.
However, the match was overshadowed by a 30-minute delay towards the end of the game caused by violence from the home supporters towards the travelling Ghanaian fans, which brought chaos to the stadium and will no doubt bring serious repercussions for Equatorial Guinea in the near future.
Read how all the action unfolded in our commentary below.
Good evening and welcome to the live commentary of the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final clash between Ghana and Equatorial Guinea.
We're set for an interesting clash this evening as Avram Grant's side take on the host nation for a place in the final of the competition. The Black Stars advanced to the last four in comfortable fashion courtesy of a 3-0 victory over Guinea in the quarter-finals as Christian Atsu bagged a brace, but they will face a tough task against the host nation to progress to their first final since 2010.
Equatorial Guinea reached their first semi-final in extraordinary circumstances as they were awarded a penalty in the final minute of their match against Tunisia as they looked on the brink of defeat. Rajindraparsad Seechurn gave the controversial spot kick which Javier Balboa duly converted, before the winger fired a spectacular free kick into the net to put his side into the last four for the first time in their history.
The team news has been announced and we'll start with Ghana.
GHANA STARTING XI: Brimah, Afful, Boye, Mensah, Baba, Mubarak, Acquah, A Ayew, J Ayew, Appiah, Atsu
Subs: Gyan, Gyimah, Awal, Agyemang-Badu, Sowah, Rabiu, Asante, Otoo, Dauda, Amartey, Accam, Acheampong
Subs: Gyan, Gyimah, Awal, Agyemang-Badu, Sowah, Rabiu, Asante, Otoo, Dauda, Amartey, Accam, Acheampong
Concerning news outside of the Estadio de Malabo this evening as there are reports of a crush outside the ground as supporters attempt to enter. Hopefully the situation can be resolved without any injuries, but we will do our utmost to keep you updated.
EQUATORIAL GUINEA STARTING XI: Ovono, Vazquez Evuy, Mbele, Da Gracia Gomes, Belima, Zarandona Esono, Ellong, Senobua, Balboa, Edu, Nsue
Subs: Engonga, Edjogo-Owono Montalban, Iyanga Travieso, Fabiani Bosio, Bolado, Embela, Bohale Aqueriaco, Briones, Maye, Ganet, Dario
Subs: Engonga, Edjogo-Owono Montalban, Iyanga Travieso, Fabiani Bosio, Bolado, Embela, Bohale Aqueriaco, Briones, Maye, Ganet, Dario
Ghana will be without skipper Asamoah Gyan this evening as he sustained a hip injury in the last round following a collision with Guinea goalkeeper Naby Yattara. He is replaced in the team by Jordan Ayew, who will lead the line for the Black Stars, while Gyan is forced to sit on the bench.
Equatorial Guinea make three changes from their win in the quarter-final as Belima comes into the side to replace Sipo, Iban Edu comes in for Fabiani Bosio and Dani Evuy replaces Randy as Becker will lineup with a 4-4-2 formation.
Thankfully the situation outside of the ground appears to have resolved itself without any injuries as the players are making their way out onto the pitch for the anthems.
Avram Grant has insisted that he is not worried about the level of performances from the referees in the competition ahead of the game after Seechurn was banned for six months for his display in Equatorial Guinea's last match.
He told reporters: "If the referee will do two, three [mistakes], I cannot control [it]. I can control only our performance.
"I think the referees until now - except [for] one or two games - have been good. And I am sure everyone will be watching this and everybody who needs to take care of this will do their job."
KICKOFF! We're underway in this semi-final clash.
The adrenaline appears to be pumping early on in the Equatorial Guinea players as Kike is overly aggressive as he tries to win the ball down the right flank as he fouls Baba.
A couple of early free kicks for Ghana, but Wakaso's delivery is poor from the left and the right as he fails to find a teammate, allowing Ovono to punch the ball clear. Not a good start to the game from either team, both sides need to settle down.
Equatorial Guinea's turn to show a poor delivery from the wide areas as Belima tries to raid down the left flank and fire a cross deep into the box, but he gets his cross all wrong as the ball sails well over the bar.
CHANCE! A huge chance for the host nation to take the lead goes begging as Balboa slices his volley wide of the target. Kike breaks down the right and cuts the ball back into the middle for Iban Edu, although the ball goes behind the striker. A mistake from Acquah presents the ball to Balboa 12 yards from goal, but he can't make good contact with his attempted volley as he skews his effort wide.
A through ball sees Andre Ayew played in on goal down the left inside channel, but Mbele gets back in time to make the crucial block to force a corner. An important intervention from the defender as the corner comes to nothing for Ghana.
Kike shows a burst of pace down the right to chase a lost cause to keep the ball in on the byline. He then drives at his defender on the edge of the box, looking for support in the box, but none arrives and he goes down in a heap, which fails to bring the free kick the winger is hoping for.
Ghana are trying to build into a patient passing game to get themselves into the match, but they are being given a hard time by the host nation, who are harrying them every time they get a foot on the ball. Good start from Becker's men.
Andre Ayew almost finds a way to goal but as he turns inside the box he is met by Ovono who races off his line to clear the ball. Fortunately for the keeper the loose ball doesn't fall to the feet of any player in a white shirt as he runs back between the sticks. A calculated gamble from the keeper, which on this occasion works.
YELLOW CARD! Wakaso goes into the book for Ghana as he hauls down Kike as the winger tries to raid upfield on a counter.
From the resulting free kick Doualla curls the ball to the back post looking for the run of Nsue, but the forward just can't make contact with the ball as lurked unmarked in the area. A close call for the Black Stars, who will be wondering how they left the Middlesbrough man free in the box.
Atsu is almost in on goal as he latches onto a ball over the top of the Equatorial Guinea defence from Appiah, but once again Ovono is off his line in a flash to gather the ball at the feet of the forward.
CLOSE! Edu is furious with the referee as he robs Baba of possession down the right and is through on goal, but the official blows his whistle for a foul. The striker is right to be aggrieved as he won the ball fair and square with a clean tackle.
Ghana are really struggling to impose themselves in this match as their passing game has been poor in the opening 25 minutes of the contest. Andre and Jordan Ayew have had very little to feed off so far and their long ball tactics appear to be playing right into the hands of Equatorial Guinea.
SHOT! Better football from Grant's men as Jordan Ayew chases a long ball down the right and does well to work the ball with Afful to work it into the middle. Wakaso receives the ball on the edge of the box and drills a low effort towards the bottom corner, but his strike goes wide of the target. Good intent from the Black Stars in that attack.
Nsue tries an acrobatic effort as he meets the ball on the volley inside the box after Edu does well to win the ball in the air. His strike lacks power and is easily saved by Brimah, but it doesn't matter anyway as the referee blows for an infringement in the box.
Equatorial Guinea are doing well to control the tempo of the match this evening. They are playing with control and quality everywhere but the final third of the pitch, where they seem to be rushing their deliveries from the wide areas. There's a lot to build on for the host nation from their display in the opening 30 minutes.
YELLOW CARD! Dani Evuy is yellow carded for Equatorial Guinea as he brings down Jordan Ayew down the left and Ghana have the chance to put the host nation under pressure.
The set-piece is poor and Equatorial Guinea clear their lines with ease as once again Ovono comes off his line to punch the ball clear.
PENALTY TO GHANA!
GOAL! Ghana 1-0 Equatorial Guinea (Jordan Ayew pen.)
Ghana take the lead as Jordan Ayew slots the ball home from the penalty spot with a cool finish into the bottom corner. The spot kick was awarded as Atsu released the run of Appiah over the top, and the striker was felled by the on-rushing Ovono who came in with a clumsy challenge, leaving the referee no choice to point to the spot. Ayew kept his composure from 12 yards to fire his side ahead.
YELLOW CARD! Ovono is booked for the challenge on Appiah to make matters a bit worse for the keeper.
Equatorial Guinea aren't happy with Mr. Otogo-Castane as they kickoff for the restart, but he hauls back play as no-one from the Black Stars is in position. The players surround the referee as we saw in the quarter-final clash against Tunisia, which is not good to see from the host nation.
There will be two minutes of added time.
GOAL! Ghana 2-0 Equatorial Guinea (Wakaso)
Ghana double their lead on a clinical counter upfield as Andre Ayew releases the run of Atsu down the left flank, who shows a burst of pace to reach the box. The winger then unselfishly cuts the ball back across the box for his teammate Wakaso, who shows composure to take his time and find the bottom corner with a left-footed strike. A great team goal by the Black Stars.
Equatorial Guinea earn the chance to hit right back at Grant's men as they win a free kick on the edge of the box as Atsu brings down Edu. A quality delivery is needed here for the host nation.
Balboa's cross is poor and is easily cleared by Mensah, which allows the Black Stars to take a 2-0 lead into the break.
HALF-TIME: Ghana 2-0 Equatorial Guinea
Avram Grant's men take a 2-0 lead into the break despite not being at their best in the first half. The Black Stars produced two moments of quality in the game as Christian Atsu provided a good ball for Appiah to win the penalty, which was coolly dispatched by Jordan Ayew. Meanwhile, Atsu was clinical again for the second as he raided into the box before laying the ball on a plate for Wakaso Mubarak to find the net. They appear to have one foot in the final on Sunday.
Equatorial Guinea held their own for the majority of the first half and will be extremely disappointed to be trailing going into half time. Ovono made a couple of crucial clearances by rushing off his line, but it always looked an accident waiting to happen when he brought down Appiah in the 40th minute. Naive defending followed for the second goal as they over committed in the final third, leaving them with a difficult task to get back into the match.
Reports suggest that bottles are being thrown at the Ghana bench from the stands, which they are obviously not happy about. Definitely something to monitor for the second half.
The players are back out on the pitch and there appears to be a strong police presence guarding the Ghana bench ahead of the start of the half.
RESTART! We're back underway in this semi-final match.
Worrying signs continue as the referee stops the game for a moment as the linesman notices that items are being thrown onto the pitch from the crowd. This is not what we want to see from the home support in the Estadio de Malabo.
After another restart Ghana look to turn the screw as they advance down the right and win a corner. However, the set-piece delivery is poor from Atsu and Becker's men clear the danger.
Better from Becker's side as Nsue collects the ball down right and runs at the Ghana defence. He flashes a drive across the face of goal, where Edu chases the ball down and wins a corner, putting the pressure on Ghana once more.
Belima tries to cut the ball back on the edge of the box to Kike from the corner, but sparks a dangerous counter from Ghana as they quickly clear and break through Jordan Ayew. The ball is cut back to Appiah, who tries to play Atsu through on goal with another sliding pass, but the players aren't on the same page and the chance is spurned.
CHANCE! Andre Ayew misses a golden chance to effectively end the game as he can't find the target with a header from six yards out. A free kick was launched deep into the box for Mensah, who nodded the ball across the face of goal for forward, but he couldn't make enough contact on the ball to find the back of the net.
CHANCE! Appiah is played through on goal by Atsu with a sublime through ball, but Ovono keeps Equatorial Guinea in the match with a good save with his feet as the striker tried to poke an effort through the keeper's legs.
SUBSTITUTION: An attacking change for Equatorial Guinea as defender Daniel Evuy is replaced by striker Raul Bosio.
Ghana threaten down the left as Atsu beats a defender and puts a low cross into the box for Jordan Ayew. The forward collects the ball and tries to lay it into the path of Appiah with a first-time pass, but his touch lacks accuracy and the opening is snuffed out.
Neat interplay between Atsu and Wakaso almost creates a third goal for Ghana as the winger's low cross is turned behind by Mbele at the near post. Appiah was lurking in the middle, so that was a vital intervention from the defender.
YELLOW CARD! Andre Ayew is booked for a challenge on Kike.
YELLOW CARDS! Edu and Acquah are next to go in the book as the pair clash in the centre circle and quare up to each other. The referee is standing for no nonsense and has done a fine job this evening.
Appiah is brought down on the left flank by Kike as the scrappy nature of the game continues. From the resulting free kick, Wakaso fires the ball to the near post looking for the run of Atsu, but the midfielder's attempted backheel across the face of goal is well blocked.
Nsue shows a turn of pace to beat the challenge of Baba and he fires the ball across the face of goal, but Razzak decides to try and catch the ball as it flies past him. The keeper only succeeds in diverting the ball into the middle of the box, but fortunately for him no player in red is there to take advantage of his error.
GOAL! Ghana 3-0 Equatorial Guinea (Andre Ayew)
Ghana are all but through to the final as Andre Ayew nets their third goal of the match from close range as he converts Appiah's low cross into the box. The striker was released down the inside left channel where he poked the ball past the on-rushing Ovono and then squared to find Ayew unmarked in the six-yard box for him to apply the simple finish.
SUBSTITUTION: Badu replaces Wakaso for Ghana for the final 15 minutes.
Equatorial Guinea work the ball well in the final third as they try to muster a response, but Doualla ends any hope of a goal from the attack as he blazes his volley over the bar from a strike from outside the penalty area.
SUBSTITUTION: Ghana continue to make changes as Andre Ayew makes way for Acheampong.
Strange goings on inside the Estadio de Malabo as the Ghana supporters are being moved, but are currently just on the other side of the byline from the Equatorial Guinea goal. Their presence there is being met by missiles thrown from the home supporters and chaos has descended on this match. There will be a delay until this is sorted by stadium officials.
A very confusing situation as no-one appears to know what is going on. The behaviour of the home support is definitely to blame for this occurrence as they continue to throw bottles at the Ghana fans.
Security is now surrounding the officials as a man tries to get on the field to approach the referee. Fortunately a steward is there to stop him, but this is definitely chaos. Let's hope we get to resume this match.
Still no return to action in the Estadio de Malabo. The Equatorial Guinea players are now begging with their fans to stop throwing bottles at the Ghana fans on the pitch. A man in a suit has seemed to have brought the match to halt after the referee seemed like he was about to give the all clear for play to restart. Very strange!
There's a helicopter over the stand to add to the drama now! It doesn't appear to be doing much other than making the debris around the pitch swirl around a bit. This is utter chaos and a decisions surely has to be made one way or the other regarding the final seven minutes of the game.
The Ghana fans are being moved to a different stand now away from the bottle-throwing home supporters behind the goal. This process appears to be taking some time, so bare with us, and hopefully we can get back underway shortly.
It looks like we're going to restart now as the referee, the assistants and the players are returning to their positions.
Maybe not! As the man in the suit returns and beckons the referee over to him to converse near the sideline. This is getting a bit ridiculous now!
Ok! This time we are ready for a restart now as the players and the match officials seem determined to finish the game!
RESTART! Hooray! We are back underway in the match, but for some unknown reason we are playing three added minutes instead of the seven minutes that should have played. At this stage, we'll take what we can get!
FULL-TIME: Ghana 3-0 Equatorial Guinea
The match ends with a tame final three minutes as the players go through the motions. Ghana are through to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with a convincing 3-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea and will play the Ivory Coast on Sunday thanks to goals from Jordan Ayew, Wakaso Mubarak and Andre Ayew. It will be the first time they have competed in the final of the tournament since 2010.
This match will be overshadowed by the chaos that forced the suspension of the game for over 30 minutes as the Equatorial Guinea supporters threw bottles and the like onto the pitch and at the Ghanaian fans. The incident was shambolic for the host nation as the Ghana fans were escorted out of the stadium by police of their own safety, which will no doubt bring serious repercussions for them down the road.
Thanks for joining our commentary this evening and staying with us through the delays. Stick with Sports Mole for our continued coverage of the Africa Cup of Nations building up to the final on Sunday when Ghana will face off against the Ivory Coast. But from me, it's goodbye.
Written by
Simon Sinclair
Simon Sinclair
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