Ghana 'at home' in South Africa

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (AP) -Ghana felt at home from the moment it landed in South Africa for the African Cup of Nations amid memories of its run to the World Cup quarterfinals three years ago.

Only it now faces an African Cup semifinal on a sandy and bumpy pitch it is completely unfamiliar with. Ghana's opponent - Togo or Burkina Faso - will have played at least two games there.

Coach Kwesi Appiah has said South Africa is "a second home'' for his squad, but the poor Mbombela Stadium surface in Nelspruit promises to be uncomfortable for the skillful Ghanaians.

Appiah says "we've watched other teams playing on that pitch and that is one of our concerns. The pitch doesn't look good.''

The coach says even Ghana's training field in Port Elizabeth looks better.