Kwesi Appiah

Now is the hour!

Fans and pundits clamoured for it and a Ghana versus Côte d'Ivoire final it will be at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) as the Black Stars booked their passage with a 3-0 win over hosts, Equatorial Guinea, in their semi-final game in Malabo last night.

Advertisement

 

Côte d'Ivoire ensured their ticket with a 3-1 win over DR Congo last Wednesday, setting the tone for the all-West Africa final clash at the Bata Stadium on Sunday.

It is unclear if this clash will be a revenge or just the desire to be champions again as the two teams will have their paths crossing again at the final after 23 years.

Both teams as well as their coaches, are on the threshold of history, Ghana to end their 33-year wait for the AFCON title, and the Ivorians, to end their 23-year wait, after being crowned champions for the first time in 1992, beating Ghana in a marathon 11-10 penalty shoot-out. 

For the coaches, Avram Grant stands at the threshold of winning the title on his first attempt, while Frenchman Renard Herve, will make it into the memoirs as the first coach to win the title with two different teams, having guided Zambia to their first title, incidentally also in Equatorial Guinea during the 2012 edition.

It was not the most impressive of performances but on the night, the Stars did what was most needed of them, delivering victory and finally breaking the jinx surrounding their semi-final matches in two previous matches.

New kid on the block, Kwesi Appiah, is fast establishing himself in the team, as it was through his effort that Ghana earned a penalty which was converted by Jordan Ayew on the 40th minute. 

 Wakasu Mubarak finished off a brilliant move from Christian Atsu on the 44th minute for the second goal to silence the hitherto deafening partisan crowd before stand-in captain, Dede Ayew, netted the third on the 75th minute

Right from the blast of the whistle, it was the Ghanaians whose superiority and experience showed but had nothing to show for it until the 40th minute when goalkeeper Felipe Ovono, who until yesterday was reigning supreme as best so far, tripped a surging Kwesi Appiah in the box. Jordan Ayew stepped up for the kick and coolly displaced Ovono.

Suddenly, the loud fans had lost their voices and they were even shocked four minutes later when Atsu took the ball from the middle, beat his marker, moved deep and laid a cross in the path of an alert Wakasu to strike.

Apart from their intimidating fans, the Nzalang Nacional or National Thunder were hoping Gabonese referee, Eric Otogo Castane, would be sympathetic to their cause and when that did not happen the fans began throwing bottles of water and empty cans on to the pitch.

Both the match officials and the Stars had to be shielded by police with their protective shields to safety after the first half.

In the second half, Referee Castane was kept very busy,  blowing his whistle to bring the game under control as the Equatorial Guineans played it rough and often rushed on to the referee and the Ghanaian players at the least foul, an action that further incited their fans to throw more missiles on the pitch.

But it were the Ghanaians who scored again as the hovering Appiah calmly laid a pass to Dede to slot it in past a stranded Ovono.

Try as they did, Equatorial Guinea realised that beating a side like Ghana was just a wish, the fans lost their calm and intensified the throwing of the missiles, forcing the referee to temporarily hold up proceedings with seven minutes left for play.

When it resumed, only three minutes was played by the referee and the match ended. 

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |