Local Stars close to CHAN berth

Two magical moments by Joel Fameyeh saved the local Black Stars from embarrassment, handing the team a deserved 2-1 victory over their Ivorian counterparts. The narrow wingave Ghana a slight edge to pick one of three tickets from Zone West B for a fourth appearance at the biannual CHAN tournament in Rwanda next January.

A late inclusion in the team, Fameyeh’s strikes, one in either half, saved the blushes of head coach Maxwell Konadu, as he seek to re-align and sharpen his attack, tighten his midfield, and, perhaps, find a fitting striking partner for Fameyeh, the revelation of the day.

Fameyeh's exceptional eye for goals brought back fond memories of former Premier League goal-king and Hearts of Oak arrowhead, Joe Fameyeh. The Asokwa Deportivo striker’s deft touches from a two-man move with Daniel Darkwah fetched Ghana's equaliser on the stroke of half time.

Ivorian Ibrahim Sangare's 32nd minute long drive opened scoring and nearly broke the hearts of the home fans who had persistently called on coach Konadu to replace lecthargic striker Mohammed Shriff, a substitition the coach waited till the end of the first half to effect.

But as has been the characteristic of the Stars throughout their practice matches, the second half produced one of the best attacking play from the players but they were wasteful upfront.

Indeed, Darkwah's misguided shot in the 54th minute richocheted off the crossbar with only goalkeeper Sangare Badra and it further brought pressure on the team until the Deportivo player came to the team’s rescue.

And just when the fans were seething at the team’s lack of sharpness in attack, the Kumasi Polytechnic studentspopped up to score the winning goal in the 89th minute.

Until the match winner, Ivorian goalkeeper Badra had become a huge obstacle between the Stars and the needed match winner, thwarting goal-bound shots, including one by captain Abeiku Ainooson which was acrobatically parried over the cross bar.

After the match, Coach Konadu admitted that more work was needed to be done to build on the team's cohesion and attack.

But he was confident the Stars would will rise to the occasion in the return leg clash in Abidjan to pick one of the tickets for the competition in two months’ time.