Burkina Faso finish third at the African Nations Cup

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Burkina Faso finish third at the African Nations Cup
Football Soccer - African Cup of Nations - Semi Finals - Burkina Faso v Egypt- Stade de l'Amitie - Libreville, Gabon - 1/2/17 Burkina Faso's Aristide Bance celebrates their first goal Reuters / Mike Hutchings Livepic - RTX2Z88H

PORT GENTIL, Gabon, Alain Traore hammered home a 89th-minute free-kick to ensure third place for Burkina Faso at the African Nations Cup as they beat Ghana 1-0 on Saturday to gain some consolation for a bitter semifinal defeat.

Burkina, denied a place in Sunday’s final after losing on penalties to Egypt on Wednesday, claimed the victory as the Turkish-based striker struck a fierce shot from well outside the area.

Ghana were playing in the bronze-medal match for the third time in the last four editions but have lost each one.

They could have gone ahead inside the first 30 seconds but Jordan Ayew missed a good chance, as did Edward Agyemang Badu soon afterwards. Teenager Bernard Tekpetey had the best first-half chance after a goalmouth scramble but his effort struck the crossbar.

The young Schalke prodigy also came close with a header midway through the second half but Ghana again paid a price for their inability to finish.