Sierra Leone 1-1 Ghana
Ghana’s remaining hopes for a World Cup berth came crashing before 35,000 fans at the national stadium in Freetown last Saturday after the Black Stars surrendered a vital first half lead to the Leone Stars who fought for a respectable 1-1 draw in their World Cup qualifier.
For the Ghanaian team especially the ageing players who may never have another chance to feature in football’s summit, nothing was more painful than allow the home team to snatch a valuable point from the jaws of defeat, with only four minutes of regulation time left when they were gifted a penalty.
And even ironical was the fact that history repeated itself in the same war-ravaged country. Four years ago an Abedi Pele-led Black Stars handled by Dutchman Rinus Israel, surrendered an early lead in the dying minutes through another spot kick.
With just two points gained from a maximum 12, the Stars are still languishing in fourth place in the group. And even if they manage to win all remaining three games, the team would not escape the trapdoor.
In last place, Sierra Leone had nothing to lose except the pride of playing spoilers in the group and maintaining a bogey-side image against Ghana. This they executed perfectly, drawing strength from a partisan crowd that urged them to avenge the 5-0 thumping they suffered in Accra last year.
When Mamadu Bah connected the 86th minute penalty to cancel Kwame Ayew’s 35th minute opener, it was as though the tiny West African country had won soccer’s biggest prize, as pandemonium broke loose and the crowd roared in appreciation accompanied with all-night celebrations.
For the home side, the draw reflected new found strength, having punctured the pride of star-studded Nigeria a few weeks earlier with a 1-0 victory.
Ghana needed victory more than their opponents and with that goal in sight, caretaker coach Fred Osam-Duodu packed his midfield and paired Turkey-based Kwame Ayew and Yaw Preko on top of attack, with Goldfields’ duo of Princeton Owusu-Ansah as a stopper and Kofi Amoako assigned the libero’s role.
For a significant part of the game it all seemed a perfect strategy as Ghana maintained a firm grip on the exchanges and soaked up Sierra Leone’s pressure. It was only in the 14th minute when Ghana had the chance to draw first blood after Lawrence Adjah-Tetteh caught goalkeeper Mohamed Sesay on the wrong foot, but still managed to parry the 40-yard volley to corner.
The absence of playmaker Mohammed Kallon of Italian side Vicenza, took a lot of steam out of the Sierra Leonean attack as their strikers lacked the vision and killer punch to punish their opponents.
However, experienced Ayew was Ghana’s biggest hope for a goal but he was given little room to operate and became the victim of rough play and winning little sympathy from the Senegalese match officials. His marker, Pasaffah Sama, with a gladiator build was hard on Ayew throughout the game and succeeded in killing his indomitable spirit in the latter stages of the game.
Skipper Preko surprisingly did not bring his experience and presence to bear much on the game but Stephen Appiah, the engine room of the Stars, and Godwin Ablordey held the midfield and attack together.
By the half hour mark Ghana had made inroads into their opponents goalmouth but could not find the breakthrough as they missed the few chances that fell their way. Goalkeeper Sesay became the hero in the 33rd minute when he plucked Ayew’s non-drop connection to Jacob Nettey’s deep pass.
However two minutes later, Ayew’s pain and anguish was rewarded when he headed Ghana ahead after a defensive blunder. The stadium went dead silence until the resumption of the second half when Sierra Leone returned with recharged batteries and opened up aggressively in search for the equaliser.
Soon they won the midfield battle but their efforts were repeatedly thwarted by Owusu-Ansah’s aerial power and Amoako’s timely interventions. Numbness began showing in the legs of Preko, Nettey, Ansah and Adjah Tetteh who looked obviously exhausted and left Ghana’s attack without the needed support and supply line.
Danger loomed ahead and Osam-Duodu’s response was to protect the fragile lead. Strangely, he pulled out Ablordey for Stephen Tetteh who was pushed deep in defence. But Sierra Leone remained a banana peel in the path of the Stars as they began pushing Ghana into defensive play for survival. Substitute striker Billy Harry Coker gave Ghana a respite when he blasted wide a God-sent chance before an empty net, after goalkeeper James Nanor failed to grab an aerial ball.
However six minutes later, the bubble burst and the previously silent home crowd were celebrating a gifted penalty after Stephen Tetteh’s clumsy tackle on dangerman John Keister.
Referee Samba Diouf had no inhibitions in his decision to award the spot kick that killed off Ghana’s dreams again. Spontaneous celebration that greeted Bah’s equaliser and subsequent jubilation even erased the humiliating 5-0 drubbing in Accra. A deserved equaliser it was having put up a good second half fight.
Ghana, the so-called giants of the African game paid dearly for inexperience in defending a fragile lead away and left licking their wounds for not learning from past mistakes. BLACK STARS: Nanor, Mireku, Nettey, Owusu-Ansah, Amoako, Ansah/Dan Quaye, Adjah-Tetteh, Ablordey/Tetteh, Ayew, Appiah, Preko. The draw took Ghana to five points from five matches and Sierra Leone to four points from six matches. Liberia lead the group with 12 points from six games despite losing 2-0 away to Nigeria on Saturday. Nigeria are second with 10 points and Sudan, who have a game in hand, third with nine. Nigeria - Liberia 2:0 Kanu ('10) Agali ('59) Group B Table P GD Pts 1 Liberia 6 8-6 12 2 Nigeria 6 8-3 10 3 Sudan 5 5-5 9 4 Ghana 5 7-5 5 5 S Leone 6 2-11 4