Nervy start for Ghana in Under-23 AFCON as Meteors beat Congo 3-2
Ghana’s Black Meteors survived a shaky start to their U-23 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign with a 3-2 win over Congo Brazzaville in a drama-filled game at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, yesterday.
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Two late goals in added time by substitutes Yann Ngatse and Reich Kokolo created a nervy ending for the Ghanaians who took a 3-0 lead but struggled to ensure a deserved victory.
FC Nordsjælland winger Ernest Nuamah set the tone for what promised to be an avalanche of goals in the second half when he latched on to a pass from substitute Emmanuel Yeboah in the 50th minute to tap home for the opener before Yeboah scored a brace in the 74th and 80th minutes.
Ghana made a poor start to the game and had few scoring chances in the first half apart from the seventh minute when Nuamah made a promising run on the flanks to square the ball into space but could not get his teammates to connect home.
For the most part of the half, Coach Ibrahim Tanko’s charges looked jittery whenever they came close to scoring and could not even utilise set pieces to find the target.
One of their best chances to score from a set piece came in the 19th minute when forward Fatawu Issahaku was brought down just at the edge of the Congolese penalty box, but the free kick was wasted. Ten minutes later, Nuamah was also awarded a free kick at the same spot, but the ball was kicked off target.
Six minutes before recess, the Congolese looked a settled side as they dictated the pace of the game with Exauce Nzaou making a dangerous run down the flanks to spot Claude Ngongara whose connection drew a great save from goalkeeper Ibrahim Danlad.
Ghana were determined to get the opener before recess and decided to attack from the middle with Issahaku locating Captain Daniel Afriyie Barnieh in the box but his back-heeled pass to Sylvester Simba was well read by the Congolese defenders who snuffed out the chance.
After the Black Meteors attack failed to produce a goal in the first half, Coach Ibrahim Tanko reshuffled the team and introduced Yeboah and Ibrahim Hafiz for Barnieh and Simba, respectively, substitutions which proved very effective.
Just five minutes on, Yeboah was spotted with a long pass and after sprinting with the ball past his markers, he laid a pass across the face of the Congolese penalty box into the path of Nuamah who timed his run well to score with a tap-in.
The Congolese fought back in search of the equaliser and in that desperate effort they often failed to provide cover for their goalkeeper, Dhody Bissila, and allowed the Meteors forwards led by Yeboah to exploit the situation with counter attacks to catch them off-guard.
Fourteen minutes later, Yeboah extended Ghana’s lead to 2-0 after he was put through with a long pass, cutting into the Congolese penalty box before he slotted the ball beneath the outstretched body of goalkeeper Bissila.
Bissila was caught off guard again in the 63rd minute but was saved by the goal post after Issahaku’s adventurous shot from around the centre-line bounced off the crossbar with the entire Congolese defence ball-watching.
The second goal further unsettled the Congolese who kept making mistakes at the rear and one of such came in the 80th minute when Issahaku was heckled in the box for a penalty, which created some drama and anxiety for the Ghanaians.
Edmund Arko-Mensah twice missed from the spot after the referee ordered a retake as the Congolese goalie moved off his line before the kick. After two misses, Yeboah went for the third kick and calmly placed it at the blind side of the goalkeeper to give Ghana a comfortable 3-0 lead.
The Ghanaians became complacent after the third goal and were punished by the Congolese who kept fighting and scored three minutes into added time, after they profited from a corner kick which Ngatse outjumped his markers to nod home.
A minute later, the Congolease were on the offensive again and Kokolo was also put through in the box and managed to squeeze the ball through a crowded area into the low right corner of the post with goalkeeper Danlad stranded.
Ghana faced a nail-biting few minutes as Congolese dug deep in the hope of scoring a late equalising goal for a point but the Ghanaians managed to hold onto the one-goal advantage to win their match.
