World Cup qualifier Ghana beat 10-man Burkina Faso 1-0 Tuesday to advance to the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals. Andre Ayew's header in the 30th minute was enough to set up a match against Angola in the knockout round. Ghana finished with three points after two games, one behind Ivory Coast. Burkina Faso finished with one point. The fourth team in the group, Togo, had earlier withdrawn from the tournament after an armed attack on the team bus killed two members of its delegation. Ghana, a four-time tournament winner, will play Angola Sunday in Luanda. Ivory Coast will stay in Cabinda for its quarterfinal against fellow World Cup qualifier Algeria. Burkina Faso, needing just a draw to advance, was dealt a blow in the 65th when Hamadou Tall was sent off for elbowing Asamoah Gyan. Missing six of its regular starters including Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah because of injuries, Ghana made an aggressive start with NAC Breda's Mathew Amoah firing wide from the edge of the box after just 10 minutes. But Ghana's defense was lucky not to concede in the 43rd when Jonathan Pitroipa raced down the right flank and directed a dangerous cross into the opposition area, but there were no Burkina Faso players to steer the ball home. Two minutes later, Pitroipa had appeals for a penalty waved away by Seychelles referee Eddy Maillet after he went down in the Ghanaian area. Essien, who watched on from the stands, has already been ruled out of the rest of the tournament with a knee injury, while Appiah along with defenders John Paintsil and John Mensah didn't make the trip to Angola because of existing injuries. Mali lodges protest The main news off the pitch on day 10 of the competition came from Cabinda where Mali despatched a letter of protest at Monday's goalless draw between Angola and Algeria. The shared point put those two sides through from Group A at the expense of Mali, which cried foul. That attitude incensed the Mali team which wrote to organizers the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to make an official complaint. “We are lodging a vehement protest against the behavior of the Algeria and Angola teams,” the Mali Football Federation president Boubacar Thiam wrote in the letter. “In fact the second half of the game was a total non-match, the two sides systematically refusing to play in order to maintain the score at 0-0.” He continued: “This anti-sporting behavior is contrary to the ethics and the fair-play policy put forward by FIFA and CAF must condemn it with the utmost vigor. It does a disservice to African football and to the game in general. We hope that CAF will take the necessary disciplinary measures.”
