Chaos, crowd trouble as Ghana cruise into final

Four-time champions Ghana reached their ninth Africa Cup of Nations final by beating hosts Equatorial Guinea 3-0 on Thursday in a game disrupted by fans violence.

Ghana will play the final showdown against Cote d'Ivoire in port city Bata Sunday, which will be a repeat of the 1992 final won 11-10 on penalties by Cote d'Ivoire after 120 goalless minutes in Dakar.

The semifinal descended into chaos after the third goal, and Gabonese referee Eric Otogo-Castane soon halted the match in the 82nd minute. It resumed after about a 40-minute delay, and finished soon after.

With violent home supporters launching missiles and water bottles onto terrified Ghana fans as well as onto the pitch at the 15,000-seater Estadio de Malabo, riot police had to use batons to protect the players from incensed rival fans and use tear gas to disperse troublemakers in the crowd.

Ghana took control of the match with double-strike just before the half as Jordan Ayew opened the scoring in the 42nd minute with a penalty and Wakaso Mubarak made it 2-0 a minute into first-half stoppage time. Andre Ayew added a third goal in the 75th minute.

With about nine minutes left to play, the match was suspended for nearly 45 minutes after hundreds of spectators came out of the stands to start the chaos. A helicopter was brought in to help restore order and clear spectators from the stadium.

Ghana advanced to their first final since 2010. The Black Stars hope to end a 33-year title drought but face a tough battle in the final against Cote d'Ivoire, who are in their third title match since 2006 but looking for their first Africa Cup in 23 years.

The third-place game will take place Saturday in Malabo between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea.

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