Ghana put a poor first half performance behind them to storm into the African Nations Cup semifinals for the sixth tournament in a row on Sunday, ending the hopes of DR Congo in the process.
The Congolese should have been ahead at halftime as striker Dieumerci Mbokani was particularly wasteful.
But two strikes from the Ayew brothers, Jordan and Andre (a penalty) sealed the victory, despite a magnificent long-range strike from Paul-Jose Mpoku sandwiched in between.
Ghana now face Cameroon in their semifinal in Franceville on Thursday, looking to end their long wait for Africa’s biggest trophy that dates back to 1982.
But coach Avram Grant says any celebration should be mooted as they prepare to face a Cameroon side that has already shown their steel in defeating pre-tournament favourites Senegal in the quarterfinals.
“I saw the Cameroonians [against Senegal] and they were very good, a very tough side," Grant told Pulse Ghana.
"In the group stage they played well and against Senegal they were very impressive. Senegal created more chances but I think Cameroon deserved to win the match. The semifinal is going to be tough."
Grant says a halftime switch of tactics helped his side overcome DR Congo.
"We corrected mistakes we made and in the second period it was totally different," Grant told reporters. "We played good football. The two goals we scored were fantastic. And when we fell asleep, they [DR Congo] also scored a fantastic goal."
Congolese coach Florent Ibenge, who has been backed to continue in his role by his country’s federation, was left to rue missed chances that could have seen his side advance.
“I want to first congratulate Ghana for the win but we will blame ourselves for the many missed chances because in such a high intense game you have to use every opportunity,” he said.
"We played a good game but that couldn't count at the end as we could not score important goals and that’s why we are out.
"I had my game-plan considering the fact I knew Ghana was a good side with tactical discipline but it wasn't our day."
Ghana have now been to the semifinals of the Nations Cup in every tournament since 2008, making the final twice. Both of those deciders were lost, against Egypt in 2010 and Cote d’Ivoire in 2015.
