Ghana sealed their place in the semifinals of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations at the expense of hosts Angola with a 1-0 victory in their Last 8 meeting in Luanda on Sunday evening.
A lone goal for the Black Stars from striker Asamoah Gyan was enough for the win against an Angolan outfit who missed a number of clear-cut chances, with the main culprit being their star striker Manucho.
The Ghanaians, who last won the Nations Cup on 1982, now await the winner of Monday's quarterfinal between Zambia and Nigeria in Lubango.
It was a fortuitous first half for Ghana goalkeeper Richard Kingson, who quite frankly was all over the place as he rushed off his line unnecessarily, fumbled the ball on numerous occasions and even managed to concede a free-kick inside the penalty-area for holding onto the ball more than the allowed six seconds.
But after a lively start from Angola, in which they looked the most likely to score, it was Ghana who took the lead on 16 minutes.
Midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah provided one of the passes of the tournament so far as he split open the Angolan defence, allowing striker Gyan to run onto the ball and apply a cool finish across home goalkeeper Carlos Fernandes.
Manucho had an excellent chance to draw his side level when he met Flavio's cross unmarked at the back post, but Kingson pulled off an excellent save.
Gilberto had Kingson fumbling his well-taken free kick, but the Black Stars stopper recovered eventually, while at the other end Gyan had the ball in the back of the net again, only for it to be rightly ruled offside.
The Ghana striker then appealed for a handball after his goal-bound volley appeared to strike the arm of a defender, but the match officials were having none of it.
The home side really should have been level just before the break, when Kingson stood rooted to his line as Flavio tussled with two defenders in the six-yard box and brilliantly teed-up Manucho for what looked like the most simple of finishes, only for the striker to blast the ball over the bar.
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Ghana were dealt a blow on the hour mark when Gyan was forced off the pitch with what looked like a hamstring injury. Coach Milovan Rajevac will be praying it is nothing more than cramp – to lose his star striker after already having his squad decimated by injury would seriously hamper their championship chances.
In another chance at goal, Haminu Dramani fired straight at Fernandes when well placed inside the penalty area. At the other end, when Manucho was brought down on the edge of the area for a free kick, the Angolans were convinced the offence was inside the box. The referee was not.
Manucho then made it a hat-trick of big misses when he headed Job's cross wide from the centre of the goal. It was another glorious chance gone begging.
Asamoah stung the palms of Fernandes as he crashed in a shot from 35 yards, and the Angolan stopper was able to turn the ball behind for a corner.
There was one final scare for Ghana when Isaac Vorsah cleared what looked like a goal-bound effort from Angolan skipper Kali, who had beaten the hapless Kingson to the ball after latching onto a long pass.
But the attempt failed and Ghana, who have grown in stature the longer the tournament has gone on, were able to hold on for the win, and repeat their 2008 feat of reaching the semifinals.
