Ghana took out the African Cup of Nations third-place playoff in Kumasi tonight with a 4-2 win over Ivory Coast.

Victory marked a positive end to Ghana's home tournament while the leaky defence that cost Ivory Coast a chance at the final reared its ugly head again.

But it took a come-from-behind effort on Ghana's part to win the match after trailing 2-1 at half time.

Second half goals from Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Junior Agogo and Haminu Draman saw Ghana streak to victory after a Boubacar Sanogo double had cancelled out Sulley Ali Muntari's first-half free kick.

With an injury to goalkeeper Boubacar Barry and recovering Kolo Toure rested from the match Ivory Coast displayed the defensive frailties which saw it beaten 4-1 by Egypt in the semi-final round.

With Ghana coach Claude Le Roy set to stay in charge for the Black Stars' 2010 World Cup Qualifying campaign, victory in front of the home fans will see his and the team's tournament end on a positive note.

Ghana coach Claude Le Roy has stopped short of blaming the referee for his team's semi-final exit from the African Cup of Nations.

After a night of frustration on the sidelines with Moroccan referee Abderahim El Arjoune, Le Roy said preparation had also been part of the Black Stars' downfall.

Ghana lost midfielder Laryea Kingston 10 minutes before kick-off to injury with Andre Ayew his last minute replacement.

Le Roy said with John Mensah already missing through suspension his team's plans were thrown into disarray.

"We tried to win the game but they had one chance and they scored," Le Roy said.

"I saw the footage and I think there should have been a penalty for us."

Le Roy held back in his criticism of El Arjoune.

"I do not like to think about the referee but we cannot say it was a good referee today," he said.

"I respect that Cameroon won and congratulate them for their win."

Le Roy said he did not regret going public with his belief that his side had been afforded no home-ground advantage at the Cup of Nations.

"It's good for football that there were not home advantages like you have in other countries.

"But I think this was a little bit more than no home advantage unfortuantely."

In response to Pfister's comments about the Ghanaian media, Le Roy said they were just doing their job.

"In Africa it is quite something to be a football player with the media," he said.

Ghana had been left a legacy of vastly improved stadia and training facilities according to Le Roy.

"The team has great spirit but they know there is work to do with a World Cup to prepare for."

The 60-year-old was not prepared to speculate about his future as head coach of the Ghana team.

Jubilant Cameroon coach Otto Pfister could not help but criticise Ghana's assumptive media as he left Ohene Djan Stadium tonight.

Casually striding the press area in jeans, Pfister talked the talk after his Indomitable Lions walked the walk with a 1-0 win to eliminate host Ghana.

Pfister claimed his side was not shown respect by Ghana's adoring media contingent.

"They said the Ghana team was the best in the world!" Pfister said.

"But you have to play football before you win the cup.

"I always show my opponents respect.

"There was too much pressure on [Ghana's] boys."

Pfister said the hero-status of Michael Essien in particular would have had mental ramifications in the Black Stars' camp.

"If everybody always says Essien is a champion then one day he believes it.

"If you always say to a boy 'this is batman, this is batman' then he believes it.

"I see the television stations always saying 'we are the champion' before the game."

Pfister said his team had played normally and followed his tactics perfectly.

"I think we played slower today and showed good fitness," he said.

Man-of-the-match Alex Song played in central midfield and was in for special praise from his coach.

"Alexandre Song, the way he plays is amazing," Pfister said.

"For me he is a wonder."

Cameroon has stunned host Ghana by advancing to the African Cup of Nations final with a 1-0 win at Ohene Djan stadium in Accra tonight.

Substitute Alain Nkong scored the only goal of the match as the Indomitable Lions sent the Black Stars' fans home silent.

Ghana will feel aggrieved with the performance of Moroccan referee Abderahim El Arjoune as it lost out in a number of crucial decisions.

But Cameroon will take its own concerns into the Cup of Nations final after defender Andre Bikey was inexplicably sent-off.

Nkong's second-half strike came with just over 20 minutes remaining in the contest, off the back of Ghana's most dominant period in the match.

After a string of free kicks and corners it was a save from goalkeeper Carlos Idriss Kameni that launched a lightning counter-attack.

Kameni fed left-back Timothee Atouba the ball, who found striker Samuel Eto'o in the attacking half.

Eto'o then fed through Nkong, who sprinted into the Ghanaian penalty area and finished one-on-one against Richard Kingson with a clinical strike.

Ghana's best chance to equalise came in the 81st minute when Junior Agogo narrowly headed over a free kick from Sulley Ali Muntari.

Despite being reduced to 10 men in stoppage time Cameroon held out for victory.

After failing to police egregious time wasting from the Cameroonian team, referee El Arjoune did not tolerant a moment of madness from Bikey.

With a convoy of medicos on the field to attend to Rigobert Song, Bikey was given his marching orders for pushing one of the staffers.

Bikey reacted with disgust to the red card, the Accra crowd attempting to hit him with bottles as he left the field.

But it was Ghana who largely got the wrong end of 50-50 foul calls and were not shown how much stoppage time would be played.

Coaches Claude Le Roy of Ghana and Otto Pfister of Cameroon were furious on the sidelines as the fourth official refused to raise his board.

Despite Cameroon milking the best part of 10 minutes off the clock in the second half, barely 4 additional minutes were played after the 90 was complete.

But with time expired it was Cameroon who is through to the final, while Ghana's tour of duty now takes them to Kumasi for the third-place play-off.

Teo Pellizzeri, Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra

Haminu Draman has refused to demand a first-team spot from Ghana coach Claude Le Roy despite playing a key role in Ghana's latest win.

Draman's vision and pass set Sulley Ali Muntari loose to set up Junior Agogo for the winning goal in Sunday night's quarter-final against Nigeria.

Out on the left flank, Draman beat Nigerian defender Obinna Nwaneri in a one-on-one before playing in Muntari.

But as Draman, Muntari and coach Le Roy faced the media at Ghana's team hotel today, the midfielder who scored at the 2006 World Cup for the Black Stars remained humble.

Limited to two substitute appearances so far at this year's tournament, Draman answered OleOle's question by saying it was just great to be called upon.

"I was ready to do whatever I could to help the team," Draman said.

"If I play more depends on the coach.

"We have two matches to try and win this cup and all I can do is my best."

Coach Le Roy said he felt he introduced Draman at the right time of the match.

"He showed his skills and it was necessary for him to do that," Le Roy said.

"I think putting him on the pitch was the right job at the right time."

Le Roy remained full of praise for his players after a glowing reaction in the moments after the Nigeria match.

Ghana captain in the injured Stephan Appiah's absence John Mensah will be suspended for the semi-final after being red-carded against Nigeria for a professional foul.

"We were 23, now we are 22," Le Roy said.

"But I feel we have 23 captains in this squad.

Le Roy was asked if he felt the 2008 Black Stars was the best team he had coached in African football.

"This team is very close to the Cameroon one I coached in 1988, I've bought my own specifics to this Ghana side," he said.

Ghana coach Claude Le Roy has heaped praise on his team after its fighting 2-1 win over Nigeria in Accra tonight.

 

The Frenchman was filled with pride by his team’s come-from-behind victory and spoke honestly about the sending-off of captain John Mensah.

 

Le Roy did not hold back when expressing his delight to be through to the semi-final.

 

“I’m just so proud to be the coach tonight,” he said.

 

“We came back with 10 players and we deserved to win.

 

“Tactically I asked the team to at least get through with a draw.”

 

Le Roy’s reaction to questioning about Mensah’s red card indicated he felt the sending off was harsh.

 

“I’m not so sure [John] deserved a red card,” he said.

 

“It was a very fast send-off.

 

“Nobody can say the host team has had an advantage tonight, one penalty against, one player sent off.”

 

Man-of-the-match Sulley Ali Muntari said the team took it upon themselves to lead after Mensah’s dismissal.

 

“Our captain was out and we all had responsibilities,” Muntari said.

 

“That’s what I did, that’s why we’re through.

 

“It was an incredible game.”

Ghana has overcome the sending-off of captain John Mensah to defeat Nigeria 2-1 and book a place in the African Cup of Nations semi-finals.

The Black Stars came back from a goal down as well as a man down to see off its arch rival.

A goal with eight minutes remaining from Junior Agogo gave Ghana victory after the scores were level 1-1 at half time.

Ghana played the last half-hour of the match with 10 men after captain Mensah was issued a straight red card by referee Benouza Mohamed for a challenge on Peter Odemwingie as the last man.

But Ghana had already been outplaying Nigeria before Mensah’s dismissal and after weathering a period of pressure, pressed on to find a winner.

Substitute Haminu Draman beat Obinna Nwaneri on the left flank in a one-on-one to put Sulley Ali Muntari into space on the edge of the area.

Muntari then fired a cross through the six-yard box to an unmarked Agogo at the back post for a tap-in finish.

Nigeria had opened the scoring against the run of play in the first half when Eric Addo bought down Ikechukwu Uche to concede a penalty.

Yakubu Aiyegbeni scored low to the left to give Nigeria a 35th minute lead.

But a Michael Essien header on the stroke of half-time sent Ghana in on level terms. Nigeria’s best chance to re-take the lead in the second half came from the free kick conceded by Mensah’s sending-off.

Goalkeeper Richard Kingson acrobatically saved from Taiwo Taye to keep the scores 1-1.

Despite having a man advantage, Nigeria was unable to make it count after falling behind.

The Super Eagles had half-chances in the final stages but failed to force Kingson into a save.

Ghana now progresses to the semi-final while Nigeria is out.

Ghana midfielder John Pantsil was left to face the media solo tonight as the rest of his players advanced through the press area without as much as a sideways glance.

Either under instruction from coach Claude Le Roy, or as a personal protest over the treatment of Asamoah Gyan, the local and international media were both left confused and annoyed by the decision.

But Pantsil, who enjoyed a good game in the Black Stars' 2-0 win over Morocco, was happy to talk.

"We're happy not only for the team but for all Ghanaians," Pantsil said.

"Now that we have got our fire back we have all Ghanaians behind us i'm sure.

"I'm so impressed for the fans and what we received today."

Pantsil said that although the team would sit down and watch the group games that would determine Ghana's quarter-final opponent, the team feared no-one.

"We have to think about what's ahead of us," he said.

"But we're ready to face any team we come across.

The silent walk-out from the rest of the Ghana team had the local media baffled more than the international.

One furious local radio journalist questioned why the nation even staged the tournament if the host team would not offer comment to the media.

Sepculation can rage about why exactly the Black Stars decided to shut up shop.

On one hand, a difficult quarter-final awaits and coach Claude Le Roy may  not want his players getting carried away with the win over Morocco.

On the other hand, it could be a protest to the treatment of Asamoah Gyan.

But one thing is for sure - the rift must be healed if Ghana keeps winning, otherwise the problems between the press and players will only get worse.

Ghana responded to its fans tonight and embraced the passion in the stands arguably for the first time in the tournament.

After failing to ride the wave of emotion in the dour 1-0 win over Namibia four days ago, tonight the Black Stars played for their delirious fans.

The street parties and smiling faces will continue to fill the streets of Accra for the next few days as Ghana remains in the tournament and progresses to a quarter-final berth.

And although the working Monday meant the stadium was not quite full at kick-off, that situation was well and truly amended by half time.

The goals aside, the loudest cheer of the night came for embattled striker Asamoah Gyan as his name was introduced to the crowd.

With every touch of the ball the fans willed Gyan to open his account at the tournament.

But after his unbelievable miss in the 74th minute the fans turned and started to revert to the groans that had greeted Gyan's play in the Namibia game.

But there was no doubting Ghana's players were now working with the crowd, feeding off the emotion and excitement in the stands.

Goalkeeper Richard Kingson waved his arms madly and fired up his teammates in the first half as he collected what looked like nothing more than a harmless loose ball.

The fans appreciated it, even with the ball still on the park and the score 2-0 fans lit fireworks in the stands and fired them into the night sky.

With the players now looking like they are feeding off the crowd, Ghana's stocks in this Cup of Nations have risen considerably.

Now they are playing with a true home crowd advantage.

Host Ghana is through to the quarter final of the African Cup of Nations after a 2-0 win over Morocco gave it top spot in Group A.

Goals from midfield powerhouse Michael Essien and Sulley Ali Muntari sealed victory for the Black Stars.  

The hosts lived up to the expectations of the Accra crowd with two first-half goals giving it an unassailable lead.

Ghana came into the game needing just a draw to progress while Guinea's 1-1 draw with Namibia has eliminated Morocco.

In the 27th minute a clever chip free-kick from John Pantsil caught the Morocco defence flat-footed and Michael Essien slid in to score.

With the pressure squarely on the Moroccans to make the play Essien exploited the defence a second time in as many minutes as his weaving run and shot hit the side netting.

With a draw good enough for Ghana the game was sealed on the stroke of half-time with Muntari's goal.

This time it was Essien who provided, his forward run and dinking pass into the path of Muntari giving his fellow midfielder the time and space to poke home for 2-0.

In the second half Morocco failed to penetrate a solid Ghana backline with John Mensah and Eric Addo dominant.

Ghana's best chance for a goal after the break came in the 74th minute when a bursting run from Junior Agogo down the right touchline gave him the space to cross to Asamoah Gyan.

But the beleaguered striker found a way to head into the desperate hands of Morocco goalkeeper Nadir Lamyaghri from close range and the ball was scrambled away.

In the night's other game Guinea secured progression in Sekondi with a 1-1 draw against Namibia.

Both goals came in the second half with Soulemayne Youla scoring for Guinea and Brian Brendell for Namibia.  

Teo Pellizzeri, Accra Stadium