Happy FM, Ghana’s Number one Sports Station in collaboration with Japan Motors, Sole Distributors of Yamaha Motorcycles, took radio and sport programming to the doorsteps of listeners at the Dansoman Step One Pub.
There were two Group F matches slated on Tuesday, July 25. The first match was between Cameroon and Guinea Bissau which saw the Indomitable Lions proving their supremacy with two goals to nil.
The second match between Ghana and Benin was the cracker which saw Benin drawing the first blood in the early minutes of the first-half plunging Step One Pub, the venue for the Happy FM’s outdoor live AFCON match commentary, into a moment of deafening silence.
However, ten minutes into the first half, Andre Dede Ayew brought Ghana back into the game with a superb goal.
Another goal from Jordan Ayew in the 42nd minute seemed like Ghana was going to get the maximum three points from the match.
Benin equalized a few minutes later after Ghana’s defender, John Boye, was shown the ‘Red Card’, leaving the crowd at Step One Pub broken hearted.
As the game inched menacingly to a close, all hope was lost and the Ghana Black Stars proved the skeptics right by holding Benin to a two-goal draw.
Meanwhile, pre-game analysis was done by Joachim Yaw Acheamong, a former Black Stars player and the current coach of Elmina Sharks.
George Mahama popularly known as ‘Alan Green, The Reasercher’ provided some revealing history about the Black Stars since the first time they played in an Africa Cup of Nations in 1963.
The discussion was moderatored by Mac-Paradise Okocha with Emmanuel Boadi providing listeners at home and patrons at the Step One Pub with a vivid commentary that gave everyone a feel of Egypt where the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is currently ongoing.
Japan Motors, Sole Distributors of Yamaha motorcycles, gave out exciting prizes to those who were able to answer Trivia questions.
Programmes Manager for Happy FM, Emmanuel Akromah, speaking about the event said, ‘’We are Ghana’s number one Sports Station and we have to engage with our numerous listener this football season. We will go to various sports bars across Accra to touch base with our listeners. If you want to know our next stop keep listening to Happy 98.9 FM.’’
Patrons at the Step One Pub were not left out of the post match analysis. A spectator called Coach Kwesi Appiah “clueless” but got a response from another supporter; “I don’t think the fault is from the coach. Kwesi’s substitutions were quite good. On the scale of 1 to 10, I will give him 8’’, the spectator said.
Another livid spectator gave his observations about the players as follows, ‘’These are the players we have. The issue is with the defence. John Boye is not focused. Jonathan Mensah is utterly rusty, Lumor was not tough, Atsu didn’t come to the party and was losing all the 50/50 balls to the Squirrels of Benin’’.
By: Bridget Mensah
