Ghana's Black Stars have qualified for the semi-final of the on-going African Cup of Nations with a 2-0 win over Cape Verde in a tough quarter-final match on Saturday afteroon.
Cape Verde�s fairytale story was put to an end by Ghana after substitute Mubarak Wakaso bagged a brace at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium to book their spot in the semi-final with a 2-0 win.
Kwesi Appiah started the game with the same line-up he started with against Niger but just a minute into the second period he opted to bring on Mubarak Wakaso in place of Albert Adomah.
There was more urgency in Ghana�s play and they saw themselves earn a penalty when Asamoah Gyan was brought down in the box by Carlitos, 53 minutes in.
With Gyan�s penalty taking history in the African Cup Nations not favouring him, Wakaso stood up to take the spot-kick and he did with ease by blasting it down the middle of the goal.
A threatening response was immediate from the debutants and they threatened with a long range effort into the box, forcing John Pantsil to make an acrobatic bicycle clearance.
In the 73rd minute Babanco took an effort from outside, and like some of their previous attempts, the shooting went astray and failed to hit the target.
Poor finishing had been highlighted as a negative factor dominating the tournament and it continued throughout the fixture with Babanco and Wakaso both seeing their efforts in the final 15 minutes fail to hit the target.
And despite their dominating play in the second period, Cape Verde�s efforts sadly proved to be unfruitful as they bowed out of the tournament with their heads held high after Ghana added a second goal in stoppage time.
The opportunity arose from a corner kick for Cape Verde, with Goalkeeper Vorzinha up field to help find the back of the net, but the Ghanaian�s pounced on a counter which saw Wakaso make a run up the field and slot the ball into an empty net.
The Black Stars will play either Burkina Faso or Togo in the Semi-Final on Wednesday, February 6.
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