TP Mazembe lift Mo Ibrahim Governance Cup
CAF Champions League winners, TP Mazembe, yesterday walloped Ghana’s Dream Team 3-1 to win the 2015 Mo Ibrahim Governance Cup in a game which was halted by poor lighting at the Accra Stadium.
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The match, which climaxed the 2015 Mo Ibrahim Annual Governance Week, saw TP Mazembe dominating right from kick-off.
A 16th minute goal by Daniel Nii Adjei and a brace from Meshack Elia were all the visitors needed to prove their superiority over the homesters.
Godfred Saka pulled one back for the Dream Team in the 27th minute when he converted a freekick in the opponents’ 18-yard box, but the visitors increased the pace of the game, forcing Coach Charles Kwabla Akonnor to make two substitutions under a minute. Inter Allies’ Baba Mensah was pulled out for Ahmed Adams, while Captain Stephen Appiah, who was a bright spot in an average team, was replaced by Laryea Kingston.
After recess, Coach Akonnor continued his fruitless substitutions by withdrawing Godfred Saka for Bernard Quansah, while Berekum Chelsea’s Kofi Owusu gave way to Joel Fameyeh.
After the match, Akonnor attributed his side’s loss to lack of match fitness, insisting that it was not a game which could be used to gauge the quality of the Ghana League.
He said, “We are now starting pre-season and we did not expect anything marvelous, but for me, they did well and were able to create chances looking at their fitness levels.”
“Obviously, we are playing against the CAF Champions who have been together for a while and we have only had two days to train and I appreciate the way they played. If we had enough time we would have played much better,” Coach Akonnor added.
Mazembe coach, Patrice Carteron, was magnanimous about his side’s comfortable victory, saying “I was very impressed with the Dream Team; Ghanaian players are always fantastic.”
He continued, “Ghanaian players have good education and are very competitive anytime they step onto a football pitch”.
The two teams were cheered on by President John Mahama, Sudanese-British mobile communications entrepreneur, Mo Ibrahim, and officials of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, as well as a sparse crowd which included 5,000 basic school students.
FIFA Referee Joseph Lamptey was forced to bring the match to an abrupt end in the 75th minute due to malfunctioning floodlights at the stadium.
