Lucky goal fetches Ghana 3 points against Congo

A fortuitous goal by Theophilus Anobaah enabled Ghana beat Congo Brazzaville by a lone goal in their opening Group C game at the African Nations Cup (CHAN) tournament in South Africa.

It was a goal Congolese goalkeeper Gildas Kiwoko will live to regret after he needlessly advanced out of his posts while Anobaah struggled with his defencemen for control of the ball, which bounced awkwardly off the Ghanaian’s knee and arched agonizingly into the net, much against the run of play.

And but for that crucial 35th minute game winner, there was very little to choose between the two sides who shared intermittent midfield dominance and dissipated countless goal opportunities.

The Congolese were the first to poke at the Black Stars, with Bersyl Obassi (3rd minute) and Hardy Binguila (6th) shooting wide and seeing two corner kicks within the period go waste.

When the Black Stars returned fire, it took a foul on Richard Mpong by Boris Ngounga to halt their flow, while a power laden delivery from the resultant free kick by Yahaya Mohammed was punched back into play.

Two other incidents broke the monotony of the game in this half; first Yahaya was fouled in the Congolese box in the 13th minute but the referee who rightly called the foul, decided the tackle took place outside the box. The free kick was eventually wasted. Then in the 22nd minute, Bersyl, unmarked in the box managed to miskick a floated pass to give the Ghanaians some relief.

Ghana next plays Libya on Thursday before completing the group games with a match against Ethiopia next Tuesday, January 21, at the Free State Stadium at Manguang.

Ghana Starting Line-Up
Godfred Saka (Aduana Stars F.C); Kwabena Adusei (Asante Kotoko); Owusu Jackson (Berekum Chelsea); Richard Mpong (Asante Kotoko); Jordan Opoku (Asante Kotoko); Theophilus Anobaah (Medeama); Sulley Mohammed (King Faisal); Joshua Tijani (Ashantigold SC); Nuru Sulley (Accra Hearts of Oak); Yahaya Mohammed (Asante Kotoko); Stephen Adams (Aduana Stars).