2021 AFCON Qualifier: Jordan Ayew’s Penalty Inspire Ghana To Beat São Tomé

A 50th-minute penalty converted by striker Jordan Ayew has inspired Ghana to a narrow 1-0 victory against São Tomé and Príncipe in the qualifiers to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament.

In an important match played at the Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho, the Black Stars came out on top as they pipped the Falcons and True Parrots at their own backyard.

A first half of unimpressive showings from both sides resulted in a stalemate with the home side chasing shadows for most parts of the match.

Despite dominating play, the away side failed to create clear goal-scoring opportunities that would have seen the likes of attackers Jordan Ayew and Emmanuel Boateng converting.

After resuming from the break, the Black Stars added some urgency to their attacking play as they constantly knocked on the door of their opponent.

Five minutes into the second half, Ghana was awarded a penalty kick after São Tomé and Príncipe goalkeeper Gilmar Eusebio Tavinho pulled down Emmanuel Boateng in the 18-yard box.

Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew stepped up and calmly converted as he sent the helpless goalkeeper the wrong way.

Black Stars coach James Kwesi Appiah made some changes later in the game to bring on Christopher Antwi-Adjei to replace Samuel Owusu as Mohammed Kudus also replaced Emmanuel Boateng.

Their introduction was to help the side add to their tally but it could not suffice as the match finished 1-0 at the end of the 90 minutes.

The result has seen Ghana move to the top of the Group C standings in the qualifiers to the 2021 AFCON.

Sudan sits in the second position with South Africa following in third place although they are all on 3 points. Sao Tome remains bottom of the table after losing all two of their qualifying matches.