Black Stars finished top of Group F in 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after beating Kenya 1-0 in Accra on Saturday thanks to a debut goal by Trabzonspor striker Caleb Ekuban.
A lack of cutting edge for the Black Stars
A dominant performance by Ghana team. Unfortunately, the scoreline doesn’t reflect the performance. Though the Black Stars had 57% of possession, they managed just 2 shots on target and were largely restricted by the Kenyans. Most of Ghana’s possession was in areas that wouldn’t threaten their opponents. Ghana certainly needs to find some creativity if they want to go far in Egypt.
Fans in jubilant mood
Expectations were high for the Black Stars heading into this final qualifier. A lot of fans were looking forward to this game and did make their way to the Accra Sports Stadium. With our local football in a bottleneck, fans are hungrier than ever especially fans in Accra since they have not seen the Black Stars play in about two years. The excitement in the stadium was over the roof as fans sang and also did the Mexican wave during the game.
Andre Ayew becomes Ghana’s 7th most capped player
On 7 August 2007, Ayew was called up for the first time by Ghana coach Claude Le Roy for the team's friendly match against Senegal on 21 August. He made his international debut in the match, appearing as a late-match substitute. 12 years later and Andre is in the history books again. Featuring in the game against Kenya meant that the deputy captain now has 79 caps for the Black Stars, a number that makes him joint 7th on the all-time list tied with Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu.
Ekuban seals his ticket to Egypt?
Scoring on your debut is a special feeling. This feeling gets more special when you score on your birthday too. This is the situation for Caleb Ansah Ekuban who plays for Turkish Süper Lig club Trabzonspor on loan from Leeds United as a striker. Born in Italy to Ghanaian parents, Ekuban declared for the Ghana national football team and was given his debut against Kenya coming on as a substitute. He scored the winning goal of the match on his 25th birthday.
Emmanuel Boateng risk not making AFCON squad
Boateng has to take a cue from what has become of Dwamena(one time fans favourite but overlooked in recent call-ups) and sit up or will be out of Black Stars team in no time. The striker earned the call-up on merit after hitting a hat-trick against Barcelona and scoring against Real Madrid. He justified himself with an impressive display on his debut against Japan. But he has failed to build on that. He has to improve or may miss on Afcon ticket.
Source: Joy Sports