African champions Egypt edged past Angola with a 2-1 win in Kumasi on Monday to set-up a semi-final clash with Ivory Coast in a repeat of the 2006 final in Cairo. The Pharaohs took the lead through Hosni Abd-Rabou from a 23rd minute penalty before Manucho equalized for the Black Impalas four minutes later. Amr Zaki scored what proved to be the winner for the Egyptians when he connected with an Ahmed Fathi cross in the 38th minute. The ball ricocheted off Zaki's body and into the net with a stroke of luck. Egypt came on strong but Angola managed to keep the five-time winners under pressure for the majority of the first period. Mohamed Zidan missed out on the game after injuring his ankle in the final training. Abou-Treika won a foul at the edge of the Angolan area in the 22nd minute. The Ahli ace curled the ball into the area where it was handled by skipper Andre Macanga.
Zidan confirmed he was injured and denied any rift with Shehata Sport-kick specialist Abd-Rabou converted the resulting penalty after sending Joao Lama the wrong way. The joy was short lived for the Egyptians as Manucho equalized for Angola in sublime fashion after only 4 minutes when he cracked a sizzling left footer that eluded Essam Al-Hadari. The second-half saw some mediocre play from both sides. While Angola maintained possession they were inactive upfront with Manucho wasting two close range efforts. Egypt had jolts of offensive runs with Meteb, Fathi and substitute Ahmed Hassan seeing their efforts repeatedly denied by the resilient Lama. Egypt's semi-final clash with Ivory Coast will take place on Thursday while hosts Ghana entertain the winner from the Cameroon-Tunisia quarter-final later on Monday.
