<<Print>>

Ghana sealed their place in the quarterfinals at the Africa Cup of Nations with an unconvincing 1-1 draw against 10-man Guinea in the final round of group matches on Wednesday. Guinea were eliminated when Mali came from behind to beat Botswana 2-1 in Group D's other game to go through. Ghana, who needed only a point to progress as group winners, took the lead in the 28th minute at Stade de Franceville through a long-range volley by Emmanuel Agyemang Badu. Guinea equalised in first-half stoppage time when Abdoul Razzagui Camara's attempted cross looped over the goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey and into the far corner, but faded away after Mamadou Diould� Bah was sent off with 20 minutes to go. The results left Ghana atop the standings with seven points, followed by Mali on six and Guinea on four. Badu put Ghana ahead with a high-class strike, flicking up a half-clearance on the edge of the penalty area and volleying past Moussa Yattara and into the top left corner. Guinea had good chances, though, being denied an early shout for a penalty and having a 26th-minute effort by Ibrahima Traor� ruled out for offside. Ghana were also denied a penalty five minutes before half-time when Asamoah Gyan pushed the ball past Bobo Bald� and was clearly held back by the big defender. Kwarasey pulled off a point-blank save at the other end a minute later to deny Guinea, as the action swung rapidly from one goal to the other. Camara then equalised in added time to give Guinea a huge boost. The left-winger appeared to be attempting a deep cross from out wide, but the ball went sailing over Kwarasey and into the far corner of the net for 1-1. Bangoura was denied by Kwarasey early in the second half as Ghana began to look uncomfortable against Guinea's pacey forward line. Pascal Feindouno drove a fierce ball across goal but Zayatte could not quite connect. Guinea pushed forward desperately and were on top as they chased the win they needed, with the strikers Sadio Diallo and Isma�l Bangoura both coming close. Ghana still had an outside chance of being eliminated if they lost but held on, although the Black Stars did not hit top gear against a tricky Guinea side. "We didn't want to get into a situation of problems," Ghana's assistant coach, Kwesi Appiah, said. "It was just important that we qualified for the next stage. At the end of the day, the most important thing is making sure you qualify." Guinea's coach, Michel Dussuyer, congratulated his players for working hard, and "wanting to win" but said the South African referee Daniel Bennett made some crucial mistakes including Bah's first yellow card. "We all know that Ghana is a great team but it didn't need the help of the referee," Dussuyer said. "I am very disappointed with the performance of the referee." Ghana will play Tunisia in the quarter-finals, with Mali facing the co-hosts Gabon. The other last-eight fixtures are Zambia v Sudan and Ivory Coast v Equatorial Guinea, the other co-hosts.