AFCON2015: GHANA COASTS PASS EQ. GUINEA TO REACH FINAL

Angry fans forced a halt in the African Nations Cup semifinal with less than 10 minutes to go, with Ghana leading hosts Equatorial Guinea 3-0.

Play was stopped in the 82nd minute for about 40 minutes before play continued. Officials restarted the match at the 90th minute and ended it after three minutes of stoppage time.

Police had to come to the rescue of the Ghanaian players

Ghana sealed a place in the final against Ivory Coast after a penalty from Jordan Ayew and a Wakaso Mubarak strike at the end of the first half and a tap-in from Andre Ayew in the second.

The fans became incensed after Ghana scored two late goals in the first half, and riot police were called in to protect Ghana's players and fans from thrown objects.

After Ghana scored a third goal in the second half, the small section of Ghana fans were escorted onto the field where they stood behind a goal.

They were eventually escorted off through a tunnel, though it took more than 30 minute to clear them from the pitch.

The referee stopped the match in the 82nd minute and the players were left waiting in the middle of the pitch to find out if the match would restart, with the Equatorial Guinea players pleading with their fans to calm down.

One fan ran onto the field during the stoppage and confronted one of the linesmen, but he was quickly taken away by security.

A police helicopter appeared over the stadium several times, flying perilously close to fans in one end of the stadium. The wind from the propellers caused debris to fly up from the emptying seats. Riot police later entered another section and cleared the area of fans, whacking their shields with their batons to scare spectators.

Equatorial Guinea only stepped in to host the tournament at the 11th hour after Morocco pulled out because of the Ebola epidemic.

Having never qualified for a World Cup, their only previous African Nations Cup campaign was in 2012 when they reached the quarterfinals. They went one better than that by knocking Tunisia out in the last eight in the most dramatic of circumstances, but that achievement was soured by events at the end of their next match.

Akin' Odunsi

@gr8akin