Alain Traore\u2019s fine second-half strike handed Burkina Faso third place at the 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations as they beat Ghana 1-0 on Saturday night at Stade Port-Gentil.<\/p>\n
Ghana had a bright start in the first five minutes and Agyemang Badu missed a header from close range after a great cross from the left, as the Burkinabe were still asleep.<\/p>\n
Despite Stallions\u2019 failure to ignite in the opening stages of the encounter, it was Alain Traore who tried a long curling shot from a set piece in the 13th minute, but goalkeeper Richard Ofori collected with ease.<\/p>\n
Four minutes later, Paulo Duarte\u2019 men took another shot through Aristide Bance as he beat his man, but his shot went wide.<\/p>\n
The Ghanaians were awarded their first corner in the 26th minute and the ball fell for Thomas Tekpetey in the box: he hit the upright and Kouakou Koffi managed to punch the rebound away from danger.<\/p>\n
With five minutes remaining in the first half, Prejuce Nakoulma produced a great run, beating three defenders in the box, but his final shot was disappointing as it went wide from the right of Ofori\u2019s posts.<\/p>\n
It was 0-0 at the interval.<\/p>\n
With one minute to the hour mark, Jordan Ayew delivered a brilliant set piece from the right wing into the box, only for Tekpetey to see his strong header going inches over the crossbar.<\/p>\n
In the last 12 minutes, the match opened up as Ofori produced a sweet save to deny Cyrille Bayala resulting from a brilliant counter attack. The keeper parried the shot away and the rebound was off target by Alain Traore.<\/p>\n
However, with two minutes to go, Traore produced a fantastic finish from a set piece on the right flank. He curled his shot to the far corner, beating Ofori.<\/p>\n
In the last minute, Jonathan Mensah pushed forward to pull one back for Avram Grant\u2019s men, but was denied by keeper Koffi, who punched the ball to concede a corner.<\/p>\n
The defeat means the Black Stars finish their Afcon campaign at No 4 and will now head home to prepare for the 2019 Qualifiers en route to Cameroon.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ghana<\/strong>: R. Ofori, Yiadom, Menash, Partey, Badu, J. Ayew (Atsu 74\u2032), Tekpetey (A. Ayew 69\u2032), E. Ofori, Amartey, Tetteh (Gyan 64\u2032), Afful<\/p>\n Burkina Faso<\/strong>: Koffi, Yago, B. Kone, Nakoulma, S. Traore. Dayo, Bance (Cyrille 73\u2032), Kabore, B. Traore, Yacouba (Malo 83\u2032), I. Traore,<\/p>\n –<\/p>\n Source: Supersport<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alain Traore\u2019s fine second-half strike handed Burkina Faso third place at the 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations as they beat Ghana 1-0 on Saturday night at Stade Port-Gentil. Ghana had a bright start in the first five minutes and Agyemang Badu missed a header from close range after a great cross from the left, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n