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Andre Ayew's header ensured Ghana progressed to the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations with a 1-0 victory over 10-man Burkina Faso. The Black Stars, who were without injured Chelsea star Michael Essien, had to win to stay in the tournament after suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Ivory Coast in their opening fixture. And Ayew's 30th minute goal handed Milovan Rajevac's side the three points they needed while Burkina Faso head home without scoring a goal. Ghana, having lost their opening match to Ivory Coast, knew they had to win to reach the last-eight following Togo's withdrawal from the competition. Their task was made all the more difficult with the news that Michael Essien has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament but Ayew's header on the half-hour mark settled a scrappy affair in Luanda and ensured Ghana will face hosts Angola in the last eight. "We had to work hard but we managed to get the win. We did it as a team and we know we have a good team spirit here," Ayew said. "We were under a lot of pressure but it was very important for us to get the victory. We know that Angola have a very good team and lots of support but anything can happen in the next round." Burkina Faso midfielder Jonathan Pitroipa, on the books of German outfit Hamburg, had the first opportunity of the match after a forceful run into the box, but he could only scuff his shot wide. Neither team could settle into any sustained periods of concise passing as tackles flew in on a difficult playing surface in the Angola capital. So it was unsurprising that the opener goal was a header. The Burkina Faso defence failed to clear a cross and the ball was delivered back into the box by Ghana defender Samuel Inkoom, who found Ayew in plenty of space to nod the ball home. Five minutes later the Stallions missed a glorious chance to equalise when Paul Koulibaly was left unmarked from a swirling free-kick but the defender could not connect cleanly enough with his acrobatic overhead kick. After the restart it Ghana who dominated possession. The dangerous Haminu Dramani was a constant thorn in the side of Burkina Faso and had he showed more composure in front of goal he could have had a hatful. His mazy run on 55 minutes almost produced a superb goal but he could not find the target while he screwed the ball wide with 15 minutes remaining with just the goalkeeper to beat. In between those two chances however, Mahamoudou Kere missed an excellent chance to level things up but just failed to reach a swirling free-kick with just goal beckoning. But when Mamadou Tall was harshly shown the red cards for an alleged elbow on Asamoah Gyan on 70 minutes, the Stallions task got far harder. And with a one-man advantage, Ghana eased towards the final whistle, although they were nearly made to pay in injury time, only for Moumouni Dagano to waste a well-placed free-kick. Ghana, a four-time tournament winner, will play Angola Sunday in Luanda. Group winner Ivory Coast will stay in Cabinda for its quarterfinal against fellow World Cup qualifier Algeria.