On this day 31 January 2010 (Exactly 10 years ago today) Egypt secured a record seventh Africa Cup of Nations title, after beating Ghana 1-0 in a tense final in Angola.
Substitute Mohamed Gedo scored the only goal of the game, playing a neat one-two before curling a superb shot past Richard Kingson in the 85th minute.
Gedo’s winner came against the run of play, but Milovan Rajevac’s young Ghana side failed to create many openings.
Gedo finished the tournament as the top scorer and Egypt became the first team to win three successive titles.
The final will not go down as a classic, but it proved to be a tight and absorbing affair in Luanda.
Ghana set out from the start to execute a well-organised game-plan of crowding out the Egyptians in midfield and defence, while looking to feed their front men quickly.
Centre-half Isaac Vorsah in particular looked very authoritative at the back for Ghana.
But Egypt remained organised and solid, as they did throughout the tournament, and succeeded in cutting out many of Ghana’s attacks.
The Black Stars started brightly and had promising spells throughout, with striker Asamoah Gyan having the majority of their best chances.
Gyan’s early free kick hit the Egyptian wall and from the resulting corner, the ball fell back to the striker, who attempted an ambitious overhead kick, which sailed over Essam El Hadary’s goal.
Egypt were mainly reduced to shooting from distance, with captain Ahmed Hassan’s repeated efforts from outside the box showing a level of early frustration.
Late in the first half, Hassan clearly handled a free-kick from Hosni Abd Rabou at the far post in an attempt to palm it goalwards, but the offence was not spotted by the referee.
Egypt held on for their record seventh title and their team and fans celebrated wildly on the final whistle, as the Pharoahs confirmed their status as kings of the Nations Cup tournament.
But there were also some ugly scenes amid the celebrations, as security forces prevented Zidan from celebrating with his own fans.
Egypt assistant coach Shawky Garib paid tribute to Ghana’s performance, after the Black Stars overcame a slew of injuries to come close to claiming their first title in 28 years.
“I’d like to congratulate Ghana for what they did,” he said
“It’s important to take your chance, and we took it.
“But we respect the Ghana team, they played a very good match.”
Garib also acknowledged how difficult a task the Egyptians had in winning yet another African title.
“We said we were the champions from the first day we arrived in Angola, and we would defend our title,” he said.
“We have won three titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010. This was the most difficult of all of them.”
Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac, who led his young Ghana side to their first final in 18 years, said his team’s lack of experience showed in the end.
“We are not so experienced, we wanted to win it so badly in our hearts but in the end Egyptian experience was crucial,” he said.
Ghana: Richard Kingson, Lee Addy, Samuel Inkoom, Hans Sarpei, Isaac Vorsah, Anthony Annan, Andre Ayew, Opoku Agyemang (Eric Addo 89), Kwadwo Asamoah , Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Asamoah Gyan (Dominic Adiyah 87).
Coach: Milovan Rajevac
Egypt: Essam El Hadary, El Mohamady, Hany Said, Wael Gomaa, Said Moawad (Abdelshafy Mohamed 57), Ahmed Fathi (Moatasem Salem 89), Hosni Abd Rabou, Ahmed Hassan, Hossam Ghaly, Mohamed Zidan, Emad Moteab (Mohamed Gedo 70).
Coach: Hassan Shehata
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali).
Elsewhere;
On this day 31 January 1966 (Exactly 53 years ago today) Roy Emerson made it four straight Australian Open titles after beating American Arthur Ashe 6-4, 6-8, 6-2, 6-3 in the final.
On this day 31 January 1993 (Exactly 27 years ago today) In steamy courtside heat that made American Jim Courier feel right at home, he bullied Stefan Edberg for two sets as few men ever have and survived a comeback to win a second consecutive Australian Open championship.
Courier, as fierce as he was in his four-set victory over Edberg in the final the previous year, won his fourth Grand Slam title, 6-2, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5, and further entrenched himself as the No. 1 player in the world.
On this day 31 January 1998 (Exactly 22 years ago today) Switzerland’s Martina Hingis retained her title beating Conchita Martinez of Spain 6-3, 6-3 for 5th Grand Slam title.
On this day 31 January 2009 (Exactly 12 years ago today) Serena Williams claimed her fourth Australian Open title with an emphatic 6-0 6-3 victory over Russian Dinara Safina in the final in Melbourne.
The second-seeded American was winning her 10th grand slam crown and took over from Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic as the women’s world number one after the one-sided win.
“I definitely think it was one of my most dominant performances, especially considering it was a final. I was able to just lift the level of my game,” Williams was quoted on the official tournament Web site www.australianopen.
On this day 31 January 2010 (Exactly 10 years ago today) Roger Federer outclassed Scotsman Andy Murray 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 for his 4th Australian title
On this day 31 January 2015 (Exactly 4 years ago today) Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova to win her sixth Australian Open and 19th Grand Slam title.
The American world number one served superbly to win a pulsating final 6-3 7-6 (7-5) after Sharapova fought back in the second set.
Williams,then 33, moved past Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert with a 19th major singles title.
“I have to congratulate Maria, she played a wonderful match and she really pushed me,” said Williams.
“She played so well and gave me a great final not only for the fans, but for women’s tennis. I’m really honoured to play her in the final.”
On this day 31 January 2016 (Exactly 4 years ago today) Novak Đoković retained the Australian open for his record-equaling 6th Australian title; beat Andy Murray 6-1, 7-5, 7-6
By George “Alan Green” Mahamah
