Ghana Ride Over Sudan To Nations Cup

Ten-man Ghana clinched their 2012 Africa Cup of Nations ticket thanks to a hard-fought 2-0 win over Sudan in Omdurman today.

Two first half goals from Asamoah Gyan and captain John Mensah deflated the hopes of Nile Crocodiles who had promised fire and brimstone against the 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-finalists.

The Black Stars achieved the feat despite playing most of the game with ten men after towering defender Isaac Vorsah was sent off.

The result means the Black Stars finished top of Group I with 16 points.

UAE-based striker Gyan tucked home the opener on seven minutes when he profited from a goal-mouth melee.

The Nile Crocodiles piled on the pressure but the Black Stars’ well rehearsed counter-attack play yielded the desired dividends in the 16th minute.

Ghana earned a corner-kick and in-form Udinese midfielder Agyeman-Badu glided in a cross which was headed in by captain Mensah.

The Black Stars could have won by a wider margin but referee Eddy Maillet waived calls for a penalty after Gyan was fouled inside the box.

Sudan took charge of possession and pinged the ball around as Ghana sat back to defend the two-goal lead.

Mohammed ‘Mazda’ Abdallah were nearly punished two minutes after the interval as Ghana went on the counter but Gyan, who scurried with the ball into the box but shot feebly to hit the stretched leg of the Sudan goalkeeper.

Ghana coach was forced to shuffle his cards on 56 minutes after centre-back Isaac Vorsah was red carded for punching a Sudanese in an off-the-ball incident.

The North Africans failed to take advantage of their numerical strength as the Serb tightened his back line by replacing Muntari with Lee Addy.

Goalkeeper Kwarasey pulled a superb save as he parried a powerful drive for a corner-kick which was eventually wasted by the home team.

Both teams went into the final qualifier tied on 13 points but Ghana were on top of the group with superior goal difference.

However, Sudan could qualify to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea as one of the best second-place teams.

Ghana, four-time African champions, finished second at the last Nations Cup in Angola.

Results
Nigeria 2- Guinea 2
Mozambique 3 Comoros 0
Sudan 0 Ghana 2
Ethopia 4 Madagascar 2

Sunday’s Matches
Mauritius vs Senegal
Benin vs Rwanda
Cote d’Ivoire vs Burundi
Morocco vs Tanzania
Algeria vs Central Africa Republic.