AFCON TREMBLE: 19th January-10th
February.
Following their quarterfinal run in the 2010 World Cup,
Ghana were tipped as the future of African football and a potential darkhorse
for a deep run at the 2014 World Cup. All of their best players were emerging
stars or players in the middle of their primes, while Ivory Coast
relied on veterans and other African sides appeared to be very much in
transition.
Kelvin Prince Boateng has 'retired' from international football, though he'll probably
reconsider when he's begged to return for the World Cup. The Ayew brothers are
missing, seemingly through a combination of injury and not being too
enthusiastic about the tournament. Sammy Inkoom hasn't made the trip to South Africa
either, while John Mensah, Sulley Muntari and Micheal Essien have not aged well recently.
The Black Stars were also playing very well at the moment.
They made Egypt look bad in a comfortable 3-0 victory in which they
rested
their attacking and defensive starters, then beat Tunisia4-2 in
their two warm-up friendlies for the tournament. 19-year-old Richmond
Boakye, whose goals were helping fire Sassuolo to Serie A, has looked
sharp
in those friendlies. Wakasu Mubarak looked like a tricky and dangerous
winger. Even without the Ayew brothers
available, Ghana has plenty of attacking options.
The Black Stars were tipped as one of the favorite to win
the tournament. Going into the competition to win it for the first time in 32
years. After so many talk about the draw in the opening group game with Congo
DR,Ghana came out strong in the second and last group games with Mali and Niger
respectively. Defeating the former by 1-0 and beating the later 3-0.
One will say meeting Cape Verde at the quarter finals was
not the kind of test we expected. But we
must admit the new comers in the tournament gave the 4 time AFCON winners a run
for their money. But after holding Ghana to a first half goaless draw, it seems
the black stars were too difficult to contain as they grabbed 2 goals in the 2nd
half through hard working Wakasu Mubarak.
It looked like the blacks stars meet a more competitive team
in the semi finals. Burkina Faso, The runners up of the tournament. After a
Wakasu Mubarak penalty and an Aristade Bancey’s goal in 120 min,the game travelled to penalty shots outs only for Ghana to lost
2-3.Ghana’s hopes of winning a 5th title once again had been shuttered by Burkina Faso. Ghana fail
to make it to the finals for the 2nd consecutive time in 2years.
The 3rd place game was divastating as the black
stars lost 1-3 to Mali whom they beat 1-0 in the group stages. Some Ghanaian
soccer loving fans attributed that defeat to the lost of moral on the
players part after the Semi finals defeat to Burkina Faso.
Mali beat Ghana 3:1 on Saturday, to
win bronze at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium at Port Elizabeth, in the
ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament in South Africa.
|
MIRACLE IN TURKEY:21st June-13th July
After finishing as
runners up at the African Championships the Ghana national under 20 team, the
black satellites showed great attitude at the World Cup under the supervision of Coach Silas Tetteh “Borbo”.
All hope was lost after the 2009 World Champions lost their
two opening games to France and Spain, little did we know we could qualify to
the semis.But a convincing 4-1 win over USA in the final group game was enough
to send Ghana to the next round.
Meeting Portugal in the round of 16 was one of the biggest task. One of the best sides
in the tournament winning two of the
games in the group stages and toping the group.”Borbor and his men knew the
opponent they were going to face as they kept their discipline, especially during the game. Going ahead in the first
half through a Kennedy Ashia’s 25 yards strike. only for Edgar Borges and his
men to get back strongly with 2 quick goals in the 2nd half after a
high pace of pressure.”Borbor “and his men still maintained their discipline on
the field of play as top scorer Ebenezer Assifuah and Richmond Boakye Yiadom
got two goals in 10min to send Ghana to the quarter finals.
A dramatic win for the satellites in their Quarter final
game against Chile. A late late goal from Ebenezer Assifuah saw Ghana to a 5th
semi finals berth, after Moses Odjer,Saidu Salifu and Assifuah himself had
scored for Ghana. A game which saw excellent display of football from both
sides.Ghana running away with a 4-3 win over their Chilien counterparts into
the Semis.
Facing France for the 2nd time in the
tournament,the satellites were hoping to have a revenge over their French
counterparts after loosing 1-3 at the group stages,both the Les Bleuetes under
the leadership of captain Paul Pogba and his men proved too strong for the
satellites as they defeated Ghana 2-1 in the Semis.
The black satellites had to settle for a 3rd
place spot, facing Iraq. Ghana however showed their superiority over their
Iraqi counterparts beating them 3-0 to win the bronze medal.
Ghana kept a single clean sheet in all of seven outings at
Turkey 2013, achieving that in the 3rd/4th place decider against Iraq which
they won 3-0.
Two excelling members of the Satellites' team emerged with
individual prizes at the end of the tournament on Saturday, with Clifford
Aboagye's Bronze Ball adding up to Ebenezer Assifuah's Golden Boot for a fairly
handsome collection.
Ghana played against teams from four different continents at
the tournament. Encounters against France (2), Spain, and Portugal provided
European opposition, while Chile offered the South American flavour normally
presented by the usual yet absent customers Brazil and Argentina. And then
Ghana also played the US and Iraq from North America and Asia respectively
.
GAISAH’S SHOCKER:5th June
Long Jumper Ignisious Gaisah announced he has quit Ghana
Athletics opting to switch nationality to compete for the Netherlands. Ghana’s
all time best long jumper decided not to participate for Ghana in any competition
claiming the Ghana Athletics Association do not come to his aid.
The Rotterdam based
jumper has been one of Ghana’s premier athletes for almost a decade winning
medals at World, Commonwealth and African Games but seems to have run out of
patience with the lack of progress within the athletics association.
One of the top jumpers in the world at his peak, Gaisah has
endured a frustrating few years with injuries and lack of competition and the
lack of support he received from the Athletics Association seem to have pushed
him.
Most Ghanaians who understand the state
of athletics in the country have hailed Gaisah for his decision and lashed out
at officials at the GAA and the Ghana Sports Ministry for their lack of support
for other sports apart from football.
Gaisah won silver at the 2005 World Championships in Helsinki, Finland,
and gold in the 2005 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia.
He also won gold in the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow, Russia, and bronze in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
He again won gold medals in the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria, and the 2010 African Championships in Bambous, Mauritius, and silver in the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique.
Gaisah is Ghana's national long jump record holder, both indoor and outdoor, with an outdoor personal best of 8.43 meters. E
He also won gold in the 2006 World Indoor Championships in Moscow, Russia, and bronze in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India.
He again won gold medals in the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria, and the 2010 African Championships in Bambous, Mauritius, and silver in the 2011 All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique.
Gaisah is Ghana's national long jump record holder, both indoor and outdoor, with an outdoor personal best of 8.43 meters. E
BLACK STARS TRIUMPHANT OVER
PHAROE:19th November
The Black Stars of Ghana played out a classic match and decisively beating
Egypt 6-1 in their FIFA World Cup play-off encounter at the Baba Yara Sports
Stadium in Kumasi.
The confident looking Black Stars surely did not disappointed the
thousands of fans who trooped to the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi to cheer on
the Red, Gold and Green en route to a convincing 6-1 demolishing of seven times
African Champions Egypt.
6-1 was not the heaviest win
Ghana have chalked in recent memory. Sometime last year, we did beat Lesotho in
an earlier Brazil 2014 qualifier at the same venue - the Baba Yara Stadium -
7-0, yet it never felt the same, partly due to a prolonged black-out that took
some shine off that result and the strength of the opposition.
This time, the satisfaction was infinitely greater. Here we were
putting Egypt - they of seven African titles - to the sword, with remnants of
the old guard Asamoah Gyan, Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien collectively
contributing four strikes, while new boys Christian Atsu and Majeed Waris also
getting in among the goals. Somewhere between the six-pack, veteran Egyptian
playmaker Mohamed Aboutreika grabbed a goal from the spot that might have
sparked dreams of a comeback for the Pharaohs with the scores pegged at 2-1,
yet which ultimately proved scant consolation. Ghana had sold Arab nation Egypt
its worst Eid-ul-Adha ever.
The Black Stars played the Pharaohs of
Egypt at the 30th June Air Defence Stadium in Cairo in a bid to secure
qualification to Brazil 2014 in the 2nd League. Egypt had to beat the Stars by a five-goal margin to
deny Ghana a third consecutive qualification to the World Cup having qualified
in 2006 and 2010. A healthy lead from the first leg at the Baba Yara
Stadium in Kumasi was more than enough for the 2010 World Cup quarter-finalists
to book a place in Brazil.
|
Amr Zaki gave the home side slight
hope with a first-half goal but no further inroads were made until the
closing stages, when Mohammed Gedo struck to double the Egyptians lead.
Regardless of the pressure mounted on the Stars', with few minutes of the game left, substitute Kevin-Prince Boateng pulled one back to make it 2-1. The comprehensive 7-3 aggregate win means Ghana has qualified for their third consecutive World Cup, while Egypt have not made the finals since 1990. Ghana now joins West African countries; Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil next year. |
|
|
Ghana line-up: Fatau Dauda, Harrison
Afful, Daniel Opare, Jerry Akaminko, Rashid Sumaila, Michael Essien, Andre
Ayew, Sulley Muntari, Abdul Majeed Waris, Asamoah Gyan, Kwadwo Asamoah.
AGBEKO’S FALL:7th December.
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — WBA and WBO super bantamweight champion
Guillermo Rigondeaux retained his titles with a 12-round, unanimous decision
over former two-time bantamweight champ Joseph Agbeko
Guillermo Rigondeaux defeated Joseph Agbeko by a shutout decision to
retain his RING, WBA and WBO junior featherweight titles in Atlantic City, N.J.
Ghana's Agbeko came into the fight after a long layoff as he has now
won just once since 2010.
Agbeko, (29-5,22KO’s) the native of Accra, Ghana and residing in the
Bronx, New York for the first time had trainer Roger Mayeather in his corner.
All three judges scored the fight 120-108, a shutout. Agbeko was limited to 29
punches thrown per round which showed how dominating Rigondeaux was.
Rigondeaux (13-0, eight knockouts) thoroughly
dominated the fight, winning almost every second of every round by picking
Agbeko (29-5, 22 KOs) apart from the outside with quick, hard punches to the
head and body.
Rigondeaux was making his fourth defense of the WBA title he gained by
knocking out former champion Rico Ramos in the sixth round in January 2012. He
followed with a fifth-round TKO over Teon Kennedy and a 12-round decision over
Roberto Marooquin before adding the WBO belt with his stunning, 12-round
decision over Nonito Donaire last April.
He is also considered one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport.
The defeat further aggravates Agbeko’s persistence to returning to his
glory days.
Agbeko was a two-time IBF bantamweight champ who made the jump from 118
pounds (53.5 kilograms) to 122 (55) for the first time.
By:Frank Darkwah
No comments:
Post a Comment