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War won - Ghana 2 -
1 Nigeria
Accra, Feb. 3, Ghanadot/GNA -
Tenacity, resilience and total commitment on Sunday won the
Ghana Black Stars a berth at the semi-finals of the ongoing
26th MTN Africa Cup of Nations at the expense of the
Nigerian Super Eagles.
It was indeed a test of character for the team as well as
the much touted "host and win agenda" as the Stars rose to
the occasion to record a sweet 2-1 victory over their
archrivals.
For the first time, the Stars had to come from a goal down,
scored in the 34th minute through a penalty converted by
Yakubu Ayigbeni and had to play 31 minutes of the game with
10 men following a 59th minute red card dished out to
skipper John Mensah by Algerian referee Benouza Mohamed.
Backed by the unrelenting, vociferous and partisan fans
throughout the game. The Stars sent the entire stadium into
wild jubilation en-route to nightlong partying when Junior
Manuel Agogo's connection to Sulley Muntari's cross eight
minutes to the close of the game gave the Ghanaians a
deserved victory.
The Nigerians had clearer chances of scoring in the early
minutes when Yakubu Ayigbeni rounded Eric Addo in front of
the 18-yard box only to deliver a feeble shot that Richard
Kingson had no difficulty in dealing with.
The Stars took up the challenge and stormed the Nigerian
defence with Muntari leading the onslaught and nearly
fetched the opener when Skipper Joseph Yobo's attempt to
clear a cross nearly misdirected it into his own net 13
minutes on.
It then became a balanced battle, as both sides continued to
search for the opener, with Agogo coming close in the 25th
minute when he beat an offside trap, raced into the
defensive third, only to have his shot tipped over the bar
by Austine Ejide.
The search for the lead continued till the 34th minute when
Anthony Annan's challenge on Ayigbeni resulted in a penalty.
Ayigbeni had no difficulty in converting the resultant
penalty to silence the partisan crowd.
But on the stroke of the first half, Michael Essien rose
above the Nigerian defence with a glancing header to Quincy
Owusu Abeyie's cross, which hit the upright before rolling
into the net for the equaliser attracting wild jubilation.
The Nigerians could have taken the lead as a result of a
goalkeeping error on the part of Kingson whose headed
clearance saw him off his line for Ayigbeni to intelligently
volley it over but the goalie ran back quickly to save the
situation.
Ghana was, however dealt, a big blow 15 minutes into the
second half when skipper Mensah was sent off, to reduce the
Stars to 10 men.
Coach Le Roy was compelled to shuffle his team by assigning
Essien a central defensive role, as Annan took over the real
midfield job.
However, the introduction of Laryea Kingston and Haminu
Draman brought added urgency into the Stars game and it was
obvious that the Ghanaians were capable of securing the
much-needed victory.
A swift attack launched in the last quarter of the game saw
Draman dashing deep into the Nigerian defence, where he
located Muntari whose short cross was tailored to the goal
line of the Nigerians for Agogo, to slot in the winner in
the 82nd minute.
A similar attack led by Draman three minutes later was
wasted by Kingston whose curler at the edge of the box
missed target narrowly.
The Nigerians threw everything into the game and searched
fruitlessly for the equaliser but the 10-man team, taking
inspiration from the partisan crowd, stood firmly and
defended the lead till the close of the game.
Ghana's Muntari took the MTN Player of the Match, with
Aiyigbeni grabbing the Samsung Fair Play Player of the
match.
Line Up:
GHANA
Richard Kingston, Hans Adu Sarpei, John Painstil, Eric Addo,
John Mensah, Anthony Annan, Quincy Owusu Abeyie/Hamin Draman,
Micheal Essien, Asamoah Djan/Laryea Kingston.
NIGERIA
Austin Ejide, Joseph Yobo, Taiwo Taye, Obinna Nwaneri,
Daniel Shitu, Yakubu Aiygbeni, John Mikel Obi/Victor Nsofor,
Peter Odewingie, George Olofinjana, Ikechukwu Uche, Peter
Etuhu/George Eromoigbe.
GNA
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