Caleb Ekuban came off the bench to secure a late winner on his international debut for Ghana who pipped Kenya to finish top of Group F of the qualifiers to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations Saturday evening.
The hard-fought 1-0 victory moved the Black Stars to the summit of the group with 9 points, two more than the Harambee Stars.
Coach Kwasi Appiah started Richard Ofori in posts. In defense, he played
Daniel Opare, Lumor Agbenyenu, Kassim Nuhu Adams and the experienced
John Boye. Mubarak Wakaso, Thomas Partey, Christian Atsu, and Andre Ayew formed the midfield contingent while Emmanuel Boateng and Jordan Ayew led the attack.
Migné on the other hand employed a 4-5-1 formation packing his defense. He gave starting berths to Matasi in posts, experienced Musa Mohammed in defense and captain Wanyama in middle, with Masud leading the attack.
Both sides made their intentions clear early in the game but the strong defense paraded by both thwarted each other from scoring.
Most part of the first half did not leave up to expectations as performance from the Black Stars players were not encouraging.
However, few minutes to end the first half, Atsu with some wonderful foot work down the left flank set up Lumor but the latter’s strike was well-blocked by the defense of Kenya but the follow-up header was off the mark.
The second half did not see any major changes to tactical approach by both sides.
Ghana, eager to break the deadlock, saw some beautiful play between Emmanuel Boateng and Atsu but the former’s strike was woeful as it went way off the target for a goal-kick.
The Kenyans held on well to their defensive strategy in bid to secure a point.
After the hour mark, Appiah introduced attacker Ekuban in place of Dalian Yifang’s Boateng.
And the Leeds United man, on loan at Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor, announced his presence with eight minutes to end the game. Ekuban showed strength and pace to outwit his marker before pulling the trigger with a sublime finish which proved to be the only goal of the match.
Ghana, top of Group F, qualified alongside the Kenyans.
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations is slated for June this year in Egypt.
Lineups:
Ghana XI
Richard Ofori – Daniel Opare,
Lumor Agbenyenu, Kassim Adams, John Boye, Mubarak Wakaso, Thomas Partey,
Christian Atsu, Emmanuel Boateng, Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew,
Kenya XI:
Patrick Matasi – Philemon Otieno, Musa Mohammed, Joash Onyango, Eric Ouma, Victor Wanyama (C), Dennis Odhiambo, Eric Johanna, Francis Kahata, Johanna Omollo, Masud Juma
By Daniel Osei
