Accra, June 7, Ghanadot - The Black Stars of Ghana yesterday taught
the Squirrels of Mali a lesson. Though all the key players
of the Black Stars did not play, they were able to beat the
Malian team two goals to nil.
From the onset of the game the Squirrels had some good
opportunities as well as home advantage to kill the Stars
but alas they were flogged by the young talented players of
the Stars.
With the two second half goals from Kwadwo Asamoah and
Mathew Amoah saw the Black Stars of Ghana win their crucial
World Cup/CAN qualifier against Mali in Bamako.
The win keeps Ghana on top of Group 4 with the six maximum
points from two games while Benin, 1-0 winners over Sudan
also on Sunday keeps second spot with three points. Razak
Omotoyossi was the lone goal hero for the Squirrels.
Mali opened fire from the blast of referee Divine Evehe's
whistle and kept the Stars in defence for sporadic periods
at the Stade de l'Amite.
The Black Stars managed occasional breaks, playing tight in
midfield and shutting down
supplies to Mali's national hero,
Freddie Kanoute, the 2008 Best
African Player, from the flanks
where Harrison Afful and John Paintsil operated with
calculated ease and from midfield
where the mercurial Michael Essien,
Eric Addo, Anthony Annan and Opoku Agyemang kept a loom-like
cooperation.
Mali appeared to lose concentration as the game wore on, and
from 40 minutes started reeling in defence as the Ghanaians
stormed out in search of goals.
67 minutes on and Kwadwo Asamoah would drive home a powerful
left footer from 25 meters to put Ghana ahead before Mathew
Amoah sealed the win deep into second half with a graciously
taken shot in the Malian box.
Mali had threatened all manner of scorelines ahead of the
game, keeping many Ghanaians in suspense, particularly so
when injury took out a couple of tested Black Stars players
while others pulled out for various reasons.
And after the final whistle, Mali's coach Stephen Keshi
shook his head in disbelief, disappointed his charges could
not live up to the pre-match boast.
Malian in a pre-march interview bragged to put the Stars
into shame. However he was seen sharing tears like a hungry
child.
By this defeate, Mali now occupies the bottom of the table
behind Sudan. Both nations have a point each but Sudan has
one goal deficit as against two by Mali.
Ghanadot
