A stoppage-time goal from captain and former
Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan handed Avram Grant's Ghana side a vital win,
and leaves their qualification hopes for the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup
of Nations in their own hands.
Just
days after being taken to hospital with malaria, Asamoah Gyan lit up the Africa
Cup of Nations on Friday with a late winning goal as Ghana beat Algeria 1-0.
Ghana’s
win and the 1-1 draw between Senegal and South Africa later in the day in
Mongomo leave the two qualifying spots in Group C still up for grabs ahead of
the final round of matches next Tuesday, although Bafana Bafana appear very
much up against it.
Gyan
is Ghana’s captain and talisman and he was missed in Monday’s last-gasp loss to
the Senegalese, with coach Avram Grant judging the striker unfit to play having
been hospitalized last weekend after contracting a mild bout of malaria.
The
29-year-old came straight back into the line-up on Friday and Grant decided to
keep him on the pitch despite him visibly tiring towards the end.
A
scrappy match of few chances on a poor surface was set to end goalless until,
in the second minute of injury time, Gyan latched onto a hopeful long ball
downfield and outpaced Carl Medjani before firing across goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi
and into the net from a tight angle.
It
was his seventh Cup of Nations goal, allowing him to equal the record mark set
by Osei Kofi, a veteran of the Black Stars side that won the continental title
in 1965.
The
goal also means Gyan has now scored at eight consecutive major tournaments,
stretching back to the 2006 World Cup, and Grant was full of praise for his
superstar forward afterwards.
“Asamoah
has a fantastic attitude. He wasn’t fit and he hadn’t been training. He is one
of the greatest players I have worked with,” said the Israeli after his first
competitive win in charge of Ghana.
Ghana
now know that they will qualify for the quarter-finals as long as they can beat
South Africa on Tuesday, while Algeria also know that a win against Senegal in
Malabo will definitely take them through.
“It
is cruel to lose the match in the last minute, but that will not change our
fundamental approach to the last game: even with a draw we would still have
needed to win,” said Algeria’s French coach Christian Gourcuff, before blaming
the conditions for his side’s display.
“We
never managed to get into any rhythm because of the state of the pitch and the
weather conditions. In Malabo against Senegal, I think the surface will allow
us to play a much more fluid game.”
Senegal in pole position
Senegal in pole position
Senegal
are in pole position and are just a point away from the quarter-finals after
coming from behind to draw with Bafana Bafana.
For
the second game running South Africa took the lead but failed to see out a
result, with Oupa Manyisa opening the scoring just after half-time.
Senegal had a Sadio Mane
equaliser disallowed for offside but they were level on the hour mark when Kara
Mbodji met a free-kick from the right flank with a towering header into the
net.
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