Harrison Afful described Ghana's 1-0 Africa Cup of Nations victory over Mali as a great result but also admitted it was a tough finish in the Group B clash.

A first-half penalty converted by Mubarak Wakaso in the 37th minute took the Black Stars above Mali in the Group B standings with four points from their opening two matches.

The win saw Ghana make a big stride towards the quarter-finals but Afful says the final minutes in Thursday's game at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium witnessed some nervous moments.

“In football when the whistle is not blown, you just have to keep going and indeed, it was a tough finish," Harrison Afful said to www.ghanafa.org.

“We were waiting for the referee to blow the whistle and we won.”

Despite the crucial victory giving Ghana a sight of the knockout stages, Afful says they have to improve and remain focused.

“We just have to give thanks to God for seeing us through in getting this three points. When we drew against [DR] Congo, we placed that behind us and moved on so the was determination were going into this [Mali] game and it helped us a lot,” he said.

“We won and we are happy to put smiles on the faces on Ghanaians but we have to put that behind us now. There are more games ahead and we just to go back and do our corrections and learn more.”

The Black Stars have a final group game against Niger to come in Port Elizabeth on Monday as they attempt to progress from Group B.