Ghana close in on quarter-finals as Morocco sweat: African Nations Cup
Nottingham Forest striker Junior Agogo’s first half goal gave Ghana the three points which lifted the hosts to the top of Group A with Morocco waiting for them in their closing first round tie on Monday.
Earlier Thursday, Morocco slumped to a 3-2 defeat against Guinea who were reduced to 10-men after captain Pascal Feindouno’s red card.
That left Henri Michel’s men level with Guinea on three points and it is still mathematically possible for these two to go through at the expense of Ghana although that prospect remains unlikely.
Agogo’s strike left Ghana requiring just a draw against Morocco to guarantee their continued presence in the competition.
“We may not have played fantastically well but we’ve still got six points from our first two games,” said Ghana coach Claude Le Roy.
“That leaves us needing only a draw to top the group.
“I knew Namibia wouldn’t lose 5-1 against us like they did in their first match. They were well organised, compact in defence.
“Now we’ve got Morocco, we only need a draw but we’ll play to win.”Namibia won over a host of admirers after picking themselves up off the floor following their record 5-1 loss to Morocco.
The Brave Warriors’ Dutch coach, Arie Schans, reflected: “This was a big difference to our first game when the players’ apppeared nervous.
“This time we showed we could play good football. Now our next goal with a bit of luck will be to pick up three points against Guinea.”Even though they can’t make it to the next round Namibia will have picked up invaluable lessons ahead of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.
Whatever happened in the Ghana v Namibia clash it would have been hard pushed to match the drama of Guinea’s win.
This was a must-win game for Robert Nouzaret’s men after losing their Group A opener to Ghana, and they pulled it off with goals from Feindouno, who grabbed a double, and Ismael Bangoura.
However, seconds after his second goal Feindouno celebrated by kicking out at Morocco’s Amin al-Erbate to earn the Saint Etienne striker the dubious distinction of becoming the first player to be sent off at this African Nations Cup.
Down 1-0, Michel made a tactical switch on 55 minutes, bringing on striker Hicham Aboucherouane in place of midfielder Houssine Kharja as he looked to ways to break down the Guinea defence.
His introduction triggered six minutes of pure bedlam.
First Guinea increased their lead with a neat three-player move culminating in Bangoura slamming the ball home.
Seconds later, with his first touch of the ball, Aboucherouane scored at the other end with a controlled shot from the edge of the area.
The drama though was only just beginning as Guinea were then awarded a penalty when Souleymane Youla was felled in the box, Feindouno steppping up to convert the penalty.
The Guinea captain was then sent off for stamping on al-Erbate with South African referee Damon Jerome having no hesitation in reaching for a red card.
Morocco pulled one back in the 90th minute when Abdeslam Ouaddou headed home but time had run out leaving the group wide open and Morocco facing a stiff task with hosts Ghana waiting for them in their final game.
“After our defeat by Ghana I was waiting for a reaction on the technical, physical and mental front and I think we succeeded,” said Guinea coach Nouzaret.—AFP