Angola came out fighting to put the Black Stars of Ghana in discomfort for most parts of the first half but Ghana survived the scare with good goalkeeping and collective defensive play till the first half ended barren. Outstanding in this period was Ghana’s goalie Lawrence Ati Zigi who magically intercepted dangerous balls to keep Ghana in the game.
The second half also opened on a blistering note with Angola still probing for goals. It did not take long, just six minutes into the new half Angola earned a penalty which it converted. Ati Zigi was on this occasion displaced by Lucas Jolo.
The penalty was the result of a hard run into the Ghana 18 which defender Daniel Amartey was caught in a marginal infringement.
However, the levers of the game also belonged to the technical benches and the stunning setback would cause Coach for Ghana, Chris Hughton to impact the game another way. He brought on three new players at a go and this pushed the tide against the boisterous Angolans. They started retreating on some decent advances by the Black stars until the equalizer came as a matter of course.
A combination of two of the substitutes, Paintsil and Osman Bukari saw the latter who is fast proving himself as the unsung assassin for Ghana drawing blood in this match too. It oozed some strength from the plucky Angolans who would not give up easily. They nearly paid another price, thanks to a mix-up by Ghana upfront.
Ghana Black stars have once again shown that they are some of the big boys in African football, capable of holding their own even when the going is tough. The 2023 AFCON is in sight. Superb match, anxiety in the stands.
Congrats to the Black stars!