GRi Sports 14 – 10 – 2002
Black Stars clinch victory over Rwanda 4-2
Black Queens silence Senegal 3-1
Black Stars clinch victory over Rwanda 4-2
Accra (Greater Accra)
14 October 2002 - The Black Stars, Ghana's senior national team survived a
scare from the Rwanda national team before winning 4-2 in an African Nations
Cup qualifier at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
The Rwandans shot into
the lead in the 14th minute when Oliver Karekazi lifted himself above the
Ghanaian defenders and nodded home from a corner kick leaving goalkeeper Sammy
Adjei completely stranded.
The Stars responded
and pinned the visitors to their half for about five minutes but the Rwandan's
stood tall in defence and thwarted the ambition of the Ghanaians.
The pressure was
sustained and defender, Bounaventure Hategekima span the ball into his own net
in the 24th minute to draw level for the Stars. The Ghanaians could have gone
ahead but Charles Taylor shot at the goalkeeper when he was expertly set up by
Peter Ofori Quaye after 25 minutes.
The Rwandans also had
their chance in the 32nd minute when keeper Sammy Adjei blundered
but John Mensah struggled to push the ball to corner and three minutes later
Ofori Quaye put the ball in the net but it was ruled off side.
The fans had something
to cheer about in the 40th minute when the Stars eventually went
ahead for the first time in the match. Rwandan keeper Cyprian Rwakabubu had
pushed back a shot from Ofori Quaye and Taylor thumped in the rebound to put
the homers ahead.
The Ghanaian lead was
nullified after only two minutes when Referee Pare Lassina from Burkina Faso
gifted the Rwandans with a penalty after Joe Hendrix had collected the ball
from an attacker in the penalty box. Desire Mbonabucha slotted the ball past
Adjei to bring the scores at par once more and into the break.
Kofi Amponsah replaced
Hamza Mohammed for the Stars in the second half and the change appeared to have
galvanised the Stars who pushed forward and deservingly got the leader in the
57th minute when Taylor showcased some magical performance.
Taylor got a pass on
top of the box with three defenders in front of him and he twisted and twirled
to turn all three inside out before powering the ball beyond the reach of the
sprawling Rwandan keeper. It was a great goal by all standards.
The Rwandans fought
back and played a neat passing game but the Stars defence prevented them from
gaining a shooting advantage. Derek Boateng came in for Augustine Arhinful and
the change seemed to have made the Ghanaians comfortable with possession but
they failed to connect the final balls.
With 21 minutes
remaining the Stars surged forward and Ofori Quaye who came face to face with
the goalkeeper was upended by the latter and the referee awarded a penalty in
favour of the Ghanaians. Boateng posted it into the left far corner to widen
the Stars lead to 4-2.
Ibrahim Razak took
over from Abubakari Yakubu to strengthen the Stars midfield and he announced
his presence with some sleek footwork as the Ghanaian mid-field began to show
some rev.
On the 90 minute mark
Ghana should have gone further ahead but Charles Amoah froze in a crunchy
challenge and a Rwandan defender cleared the ball to safety to end the game at
4-2 in favour of the Ghanaians.
In a related
development, Black Stars head coach Emmanuel Kwasi Afranie, caretaker coach of
the senior national team, Black Stars has expressed his satisfaction with the
out put of his team but agreed there is some work to be done before it peaks.
The Stars recovered
from a goal down to beat their Rwandan counterparts by 4-2 to move to the top
of their group on goal difference ahead of Uganda in the qualifying series of
the next African Cup of Nations scheduled for Tunisia.
The coach said the
Rwandans played very well especially in the fist half and even though they took
an early lead he knew that the team would definitely recover and carry the day.
]"We should not
forget that they are also playing their first match and a good result for them
would inevitably determine their qualification". "The first half was
quiet frustrating as they massed up in the middle and did not allow us to play
our usual game".
Coach Afranie said the
performance of referee Pare Lassina from Burkina Faso left much to be desired
as some bizarre decisions he took unsettled his boys.
He said his defence
played very well even though momentary lapse in concentration caused their
first goal and the second could not be blamed on Joe Hendrick after he had
clearly won the ball and did not bring the player down to warrant the penalty.
Regarding the future
of the team, the coach said it is very bright and he hopes to build on their
performance in subsequent matches.
GRi…/
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Black Queens silence Senegal 3-1
Kumasi (Ashanti
Region) 14 October 2002 - The Black Queens, the national female football team
on Saturday swept past their Senegalese counterparts by three goals to one in
their second leg African Cup qualifier played at the Kumasi Sports Stadium.
The queens sprang into
action immediately after a minute's silence had been observed in memory of the
ferry accident victims of Senegal and Mavis Djangmah missed narrowly from the
first chance of the match.
Queens' keeper
Mohammed Fati made a great save at the other side when the Senegalese tested her
after a swift counter attack and soon after, Gjangmah messed up another
opportunity with the Senegalese keeper Aicha Gueye at her mercy.
Sheila Okine glittered
in the 21st minute with a thunderbolt and the response from the Senegalese
goalkeeper was marvellous as she made a grand save to keep the game barren. The
Queens broke the deadlock on the half hour mark when Sheila converted a penalty
after menacing Djangma was upended in the Senegalese box.
Senegal suffered a
psychological set back when their goalkeeper was shown the yellow card for time
wasting in the 31st minute and soon after that, Mavis Danso hit the back of the
net but his effort was ruled off side by the match officials.
The Ghanaian ladies
scored the second goal in the 54th minute through Ohenewa after she had linked
up well with Abass Hamdia and Djangmah. The second goal of the Queens compelled
the Senegalese bench to make three substitutions, which enabled them to push
forward for a while.
But it was the
Ghanaians who celebrated another goal in the 68th minute when Ohenewa got a
brace.
The Ghanaian attacking
quartet of Ohenewa, Djangmah, Hamdia and Florence Okoe clicked well to worry
the Senegalese but complacency appeared to have set in and they paid dearly for
it when the visitors reduced the deficit.
Gueye struck from
about 30 meters with seven minutes remaining and keeper Fati had no answer to
the challenge. The Senegalese defensive network then went to work as they laid
an effective booby trap that netted the Ghanaian attackers off side anytime
they approached goal till the end of the match.
GRi…/
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