Ghana Black Stars charged at the Port Elizabeth stadium with determination and succeeded in nailing the Elephants of Cote de’Ivoire with a rare 2 – 0 win in their group D opening game.
The victory before a sizeable Ghanaian supporters will remain fondly in the memories of most Ghanaians as it broke what appeared as a jinx surrounding the Cote de Ivoire.
Skipper Abedi Ayew ‘Pele’’, and Europe’s most reputed hitman, Tony Yeboah, administered the kill with two brilliant strikes. The two whose influence was supremely evident, made all the difference in a tight battle which saw the Ivorians resisting the Black Stars with some delightful organization in the midfield.
Yeboah, who saw his hopes of making an impact for the Stars in the competition, was in reckoning with a brilliant strike in the 20th minute, whilst Abedi further graced the occasion with another superb finish in the 70th minute.
The Elephants, after a four-year dominance over Ghana, had emerged at Port Elizabeth and attempted to win a psychological advantage over the Black Stars with their attempt to introduce voodooism, to create insecurity in the Ghanaian camp.
Against this background, their confidence soared in the hope of reaping the full advantage of the insecurity to maintain their hold on Ghana.
With the skipper Joel Tiehe, a name dreaded by most Ghanaians for the damage he caused the Stars defence in the previous Cup of Nations, together with other brilliant Elephant faithful’s, Guel Tchiressoua, Donald Sie, and veteran Abdoulaye Traore, the Ivorians were more comfortable with their game plan.
They cheekily dispossessed the stars soon after kick off and easily found a path in the Stars vital area which caused sweeper Joe Addo the first yellow card after visiting a brutal tackle on a threatening Abdoulaye Traore as early as the second minute.
Abedi Pele and striker Yeboah in no time proved their deadlines in their partnership with other competitors in the Cup of Nations found difficult to surmount.
The two took the Ivorian defence spearheaded by their veteran Aka Kouame by storm and in a superb movement destroyed the Elephants defensive game and gave a hint of their determination for the battle.
Afo Dodoo, Joe Addo, Isaac Asare and Frank Amankwa in defence, the Black Stars look uncompromising and impregnable to Joel Tiehe and Abdoulaye Traore, the men tasked by coach Pierre Pleimelding to lead the goal hunt.
Whatever advantage Ghana had in that defensive system manifested when strongman Sam Johnson strode confidently out of his range and swept past two Ivorian defenders on the left and volleyed a powerful one to striker Yeboah.
The Leeds striker hovering for a prey responded brilliantly launching himself into midair to rifle the ball into the net with a bicycle kick leaving goalkeeper Alain Gouamene who plays for Lens in France helpless.
The Elephants took this with fury and seized the Black Stars goal area but found the defence too unyielding and were lucky to escape from danger after Abedi’s header was directed off target by the resilience of Gouamene.
With Yeboah playing with unimaginable zeal and zest and Yaw Preko, Akonnor and the skipper in full gear, it was clear that only the magic of Gouamene could whittle down the score in the face of the Stars stormy attack.
In the heat, Ghana lost Yaw Preko after a tussle with an Elephant defender and Gouamene again had to display a resilience to push away to corner Abedi’s goal bound shot after Tony’s cross had urged him.
But Gouamene failed to answer Abedi’s great strike in the 70th minute. The maestro emphasised his greatness after taking cross from substitute Odartey Lamptey outside the box and turned almost 360 degrees past Aka Kouame at the acute angle before zooming the ball past the Elephants’ goalkeeper.
Ghana: Simon Addo, Frank Amankwa, Isaac Asare, Afo Dodoo, Sam Johnson, Joe Addo, Mallam Yahaya, Osei Kuffour, Yaw Preko/Odartey Lamptey, Tony Yeboah, Abedi Ayew, Charles Akonnor/Ibrahim Tanko
Coach: Ismael Kurtz
Cote d’Ivoire: Alain Gouamene, Aka Kouame, Lassina Dao/Ibrahima Kamara, Kpassagnon Gneto, Cyril Domoraud, Ibrahima Kone, Moussa Traore, Tchiressoua Guel/Serge Die, Joel Tiehe, Abdoulaye Traore/Ibrahima Bakayoko
Coach: Pierre Pleimelding
Referee: Masayoshi Okada – Japan
Other AFCON fixtures on 14 January
1962 Opening match: Ethiopia 4-2 Tunisia
1968 Group: Ghana 2 – 1 Congo-Kinshasa
1968 Group: Senegal 2-1 Congo – Brazzaville
1968 Group: Ethiopia 1-0 Cote d’Ivoire
1968 Group: Algeria 4 – 0 Uganda
1992 Group: Nigeria 2- 1 Kenya
1992 Group: Morocco 1-1 Zaire
1996 Group: Zambia 0 – 0 Algeria
2010 Group: Mali 0 – 1 Algeria
2010 Group: Angola 2 – 0 Malawi
2017 Opening match: Gabon 1-1 Guinea- Bissau
2017 Group: Burkina Faso 1-1 Cameroon
By: George ‘Alan Green’ Mahamah
