Everton winger Christian Atsu slotted home to open the scoring after just four minutes, and just before the break the Black Stars doubled their lead thanks to Crystal Palace's Kwesi Appiah.

Any slim hopes of a shock Guinea win were ended with half an hour remaining as Atsu bagged his second of the match with a sublime finish.

In the dying embers of the contest, Naby Yattara ensured the match ended in bizarre fashion as he was given his marching orders for a karate kick on Ghana captain Asamoah Gyan, which meant defender Abdoulaye Cisse had to go in goal for the remaining three minutes.

The victory over Guinea, who only made the last eight by virtue of drawing lots at the expense of Mali, maintains Ghana's quest for a first Africa Cup of Nations title since 1982.

The two matches on Sunday were almost polar opposites to those that had taken place the previous day.

In the other semi-final, Manchester City striker Wilfried Bony helped Ivory Coast negotiate a tricky test with Algeria as the White Elephants booked their place in the last four with a 3-1 win.

Gervinho bagged Ivory Coast's third goal as they progressed to the semi-finals with a 3-1 victory over pre-tournament favourites Algeria ©Getty Images



Bony gave his side the lead when he nodded home a perfectly-flighted Max Gradel cross but Algeria, fresh from an excellent showing at last year's FIFA World Cup, restored parity six minutes into the second half as Hilal Soudani smashed the ball high into the roof of the net from close range.

The 2010 meeting between the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw before Algeria went on to win in extra-time, but there was to be no repeat this time around as Bony found the net with another header, this time combining with new City teammate Yaya Toure, to edge Ivory Coast in front with 22 minutes to go.

As Algeria pressed forward in search of an equaliser in the late stages of the contest, Ivory Coast struck with a ruthless counter-attack that was coolly finished off by Gervinho which sealed his side's semi-final spot.

Ivory Coast will take on The Democratic Republic of Congo in the first semi-final on Wednesday (February 4).

Ghana will now face Equatorial Guinea in the last four on Thursday (February 5) after the host nation defied the odds with an extra-time win against Tunisia yesterday.

Guinea had not beaten Ghana at the tournament before and that record never really looked in jeopardy as they suffered their fourth-straight exit at the quarter-final stage.

Christian Atsu (right) bagged a double as his side reached their fifth consecutive Africa Cup of Nations semi-final ©Getty Images



The Black Stars made a rapid start to the contest and they took the lead after four minutes when Andre Ayew sent a clever improvised backheel across the box to Atsu, who did the rest from close range.

The early setback had somewhat taken the wind out of Guinean sails but they gradually fought their way back in to the match before the killer blow came on the stroke of half-time, and in truth Michel Dussuyer's men only had themselves to blame.

Djibril Paye played the ball back to Baissama Sankoh and the centre-back sliced his clearance straight into the path of Appiah, who calmly slid his shot underneath the onrushing Yattara to effectively seal their progress into the semi-finals.

Guinea would have been buoyed by the fact that DR Congo had recovered from the same margin to earn victory against Congo the previous day, but any hopes of a dramatic comeback in this contest looked remote at best.

Despite barely meriting their two-goal cushion, Ghana looked comfortable throughout and a truly memorable goal clinched their semi-final berth as Atsu cut in from the flank before he unleashed a dipping strike that flew into the top corner.

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