Ghana stuns Angola, hits semis

Source: The Nation Newspaper Published:Monday, January 25th, 2010

Asamoah Gyan's first-half strike for Ghana in Luanda on Sunday was enough to see the Black Stars knock out the hosts Angola at the quarter-final stage of the African Nations Cup.

The 1-0 victory, achieved on the back of a solid defensive display, was good enough to set up a semi-final clash for Ghana on Thursday in Luanda against the winner of today's quarter-final match between Nigeria and Zambia.

The hosts had enough chances to win several games, with Manucho the main culprit as he missed three clear-cut chances that he should really have buried in the back of the net.

There was good news at the start of the game for Angolan coach Manuel Jose, who was able to call on top striker Flavio, who had recovered sufficiently from the injury that kept him out of the last match.

And it was the Palancas Negras, who, to the joy of the capacity 50,000 crowd in the Estadio do Novembre 11 in the capital, stamped their authority on the game early on.

Against the run of play, Ghana's Black Stars took the lead in the 16th minute when Kwadwo Asamoah sent Gyan into space and the Stade Rennes striker scored with a stunning low shot past goalkeeper Carlos Fernandes.

The goal spurred the host into even more action and former Manchester United striker Manucho, who now plays for Real Valladolid in Spain, had two glorious opportunities to equalize in the first half.

On the half hour, Flavio found an unmarked Manucho in the area, but goalkeeper Richard Kingson pulled off a fantastic reflex save from his powerful header.

In the 37th minute Gyan thought he had scored a second for his side, but his effort was correctly ruled offside.

A minute from the break Manucho had his second chance.

Under pressure from Flavio, Kingson attempted to clear a high ball, but the Wigan goalkeeper could only punch the ball to the feet of Manucho. With the goal at his mercy and Kingson lying flat on the ground, the forward ballooned the ball over the bar.

Angola continued dominating in the second half, but failed to create any real chances early on.

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