the match facts and reports:
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World Cup 2002
- African qualification - match report
Sudan
- Ghana 1:0
Feb 25, 2001, 1700 GMT
Before the match:
Ghana and new appointed
coach Jones Attuquayefio seem to have a problem ahead as the man is also
coach of African club champions Hearts Of Oak Accra.
heartsofoakonline.com
has investigated for The Shot into the problem of collisions of the Ghana
national team campain (with the possibly crucial last World Cup qualifier
against Nigeria on July scheduled for July 28th or 29th) and the World
Club Championship to begin for Hearts Of Oak at July 29th:
Coach Jones Attuquayefio
is now working full time with the Black Stars after seeing Hearts of Oak
through the Super Cup. Hearts are presently looking for a replacement.
It could be either Herbert Addo or Sam Arday. Addo was the coach of Obuasi
Goldfields when they reached the champions league final in 1997 and had
previously coached Cornerstones and Hasaacas, both Ghanaian clubs to WAFU
cup titles.
Sam Arday was the national
U-17 coach when Ghana won the world cup in 1995. He has also coached the
national U-21 side and the senior national team. He presently works for
Feyenoord Rotterdam. No decision has been taken yet, but observers also
believe that if Ghana loses this week-end's game in Sudan, Coach Jones
may be fired. In that case, he might revert to Hearts of Oak again.
1st half:
- Sudan in white shorts,
red shirt, Ghana in yellow shirts, black shorts
-('3) first opportunity
for Sudan after a free kick cross from the right hand side, a defender
blocks the goal attempt
-('4) great save by the
Sudanese keeper when a Ghanaian attacker was broken through (Ismael Addo?)
and tried to score by a low shot
-('12) some problems for
Ghana after a high ball into the penalty area
-yet a balanced match
-('13) Sudan: header after
a corner and great save by the Ghanaian keeper Adjei
-('19) Sudan: distance attempt
goes wide
- Sudan have gained momentum
surprisingly playing a lot of long and high balls
-('25) the Sudanese keeper
comes out in time to prevent from a ghana opportunity
-('37) after minutes of
neutralization Aismael Adddo sets up an Emmanuel Kuffour ? shot which misses
the goal only by a narrow margin and would have left the keeper without
any time to react
-('43) half chance for Sudan
halftime 0:0
Ghana are waiting for their
chance to prove their individual scoring quality can decide this balanced
match in favor of the visitors. The match is not very fast and so Sudan
could be able to stay in the game if they can keep up concentration
2nd half:
- ('47) Ghana score by a
fine lob on the counter attack but it is ruled offside
- ('52) pretty but harmless
attempt by the Sudanese
- ('54) the Sudanese keeper
drops a cross but the immediate attempt by a Ghana player goes wide
- ('56) the Sudanese keeper
has some problems with not very precise but sharp distance shot from half
left
- ('60) long ball on Sudan
#18, he is through and lobs over the keeper but the ball goes across the
bar by half a meter - the biggest chance for Sudan yet
- ('60) Adjei intervenes
in time to prevent from another opportunity for the Sudanese
- the match remains fragmented
until suddenly
- ('66) Ghana #16 makes
a surprise lob from 16 meters which eaves the Sudanese keeper without chance
but bounces back from the goalpost back into the field
- ('71) free kick
from 17 meters for Sudan when Adjei handles the ball at the line of the
penalty area, linesman says it was outside: the Sudanese make a trick freekick,
instead of shooting a pass. It does not work out perfect but #8 is able
to unleash a low shot which goes through defenders and beats Adjei - 1:0
- ('75) a mistimed cross
forces Adjei to a good save and creates even more excitement in the stadium
- the crowd had been silenbdced by the relative control of the game by
the guests and suddenly woken up by the goal
- ('81) Sudan: is it a cross
or a lob on the goal? it almost beats Adjei but goes wide
- ('83) Ghana bring on a
couple of substitues
- ('85) a quick throw in
sets up a chance for Ghana but the angle is too tight to score
-the match is more open
now, Ghana attacking and Sudan looking for to decide the match by a counter
attack
-('injury time) Adjei saves
against a 12 meter shot from excellent position
final score 1:0
the Sudanese won the match
by a suitable style for the bumpy pitch.- they were lucky in the decisive
situations. Ghana looked a bit more dangerous but eventually could neither
score when in a counter position nor play out a sufficient number of opportunities
after having fallen behind. Everybody laughing about Ghana first will have
to win here - Liberia already lost also
After the match:
There was big sign readable
at the side of the road all four weeks long: 'Khartoum, big trap waiting
for you to fall into'. Not that Ghana played that bad, but they
did not play well enough to make it impossible to beat them. And due to
reports their preperations had been marred by late or no arrivals of European
professionals. Now, having fallen behind and losing confidence, it seems
unlikely they will come up with what is requesteded to win the remaining
direct encounters with Nigeria and Liberia which would be needed to turn
around things.
In consequence the disappointed
fans in their pain indulge in paradox emotional outcries for complete distroyal
of everything, asking for kicking out local based players and European
professionals at the same time, changing the coach because he has changed
players and because he has not changed players, etc. After the match Abedi
Pele has offered his help and has spoken out in favour of keeping coach
Jones Attuquayefio to give him the chance to build up a new squad like
he had already done on club level at Hearts Of Oak.
The agressiveness and destructive
potential of the discussions might play its part in the motivation problems
for the professionals to return from the glamour world of European leagues
to the bumpy grounds of African matches in front of a support that can
turn hostile fast. An aspect that adds to the troublesome philosophical
contraposition of individual (club) career vs team interests, an
energy eater especially for Africans and a conflict which will not (or
cannot) be answered by all players the same as by Patrick Mboma. Fielding
only local players will be no solution: if emerging as successful they
will not be local players for much longer.
Ghanas football is facing
similar problems like their West African neighbours but they have lost
their superirity on the field as others have improved when Ghana didn't.
While Nigeria yet still can conceal the same problems by the huge talent
and reservoir from the big country the decline of Ghanaian football is
reflecting all the typical problems Africa has with the structures of Football
of today and of itself. Once leading on youth level they have already been
overtaken by the remarkable programs of their poor neighbours Burkina Faso
and Mali. And on adult level talent alone is not enough to win through
the special demands of qualifying schedules against better prepared and
clearer focussing opponents. |
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