Ghana Gives Africa Its First Victory

By JEFFREY MARCUS
Published: June 13, 2010
PRETORIA, South Africa — Ghana and Serbia came into the opening game of Group D of the World Cup with different agendas.
Serbia aimed to erase the memory of its disappointing performance from four years ago in Germany, where it played with Montenegro, and was eliminated after three straight losses, including a 6-0 thrashing by Argentina.
Ghana, which had advanced to the Round of 16 in 2006, hoped to ride a wave of African support even deeper into this tournament, the first on its home continent.
It appeared the game was destined to be a scoreless draw, until a late penalty — the tournament’s first — gave Ghana the opening it needed in a 1-0 victory. The win was the first for an African team at this World Cup.
“We are so happy an African team won against a strong European team,” Ghana Coach Milovan Rajevac said. “We are happy if all of Africa is happy.”
In the 84th minute, with Ghana pressing a one-man advantage after Serbia’s center back Aleksandar Lukovic was sent off for receiving a second yellow card, Zdravko Kuzmanovic, a second-half substitute, hit the ball with his hand while leaping awkwardly to head a cross. The referee Héctor Baldassi from Argentina awarded the penalty kick and Asamoah Gyan smashed the ball to the right of goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic, to the delight of the vast majority of the 38,833 vocal fans in Loftus Versfeld Stadium. The stadium was the site of South Africa’s 1-0 victory over Sweden in 1999, its first win against a European opponent.
It capped a strong and ambitious effort by Ghana that left Rajevac, a Serbian, with conflicted emotions. He politely shook hands with Serbia’s coaching staff while his players celebrated on the field.
“For myself, my job, this is a great victory,” Rajevac said. “I’m sorry for the Serbian team. I love its players. I tried to perform my duties in a professional manner and it is very difficult to play against Serbia.”
He added, “I wish Serbia to attain 6 points in the next two games.”
Ghana controlled the ball and the pace of the game, though the teams shared possession almost equally. The Ghana players were quick and dynamic, showing keen passing, but lacked the strong final touch needed to score.
In the 15th minute, after sustained offensive pressure, Ghana had three good shots — two from Kwadwo Asamoah and one by Kevin-Prince Boateng — that were blocked well by the Serbian defense.
Boateng, Asamoah and Andre Ayew were strong on the left side of midfield in the first half, quickly moving the ball from Ghana’s defensive third into the attacking half of the field. Their probing passes tested a shaky Serbian backline.
Before the game, Lukovic said Serbia would concentrate on defense and show that it had shored up a backline that looked out of sorts in two pre-tournament exhibitions. Instead, Serbia was slow and predictable.
“During the game, I didn’t notice Ghana really had many opportunities to score before the penalty,” Serbia Coach Radomir Antic said. “We played the correct game during the first 45 minutes considering our opponent.”
Ghana had 13 shots to Serbia’s 10, but the Serbians conceded large swaths of green in the midfield, allowing Ghana’s outside players to advance up field.
Right back Branislav Ivanovic looked surprisingly overmatched, requiring help from Lukovic and Nemanja Vidic on a number of occasions in the first half. Ghana’s Ayew and Gyan were often able to run free.
Serbia was less aggressive on offense, preferring to have Dejan Stankovic and Nenad Milijas remain deep in midfield and send long balls to the tall forward Nikola Zigic to flick up the field with his head, or over the top of the defense for striker Marko Pantelic to run to. The approach failed. Serbia had only five shots in the first half, none of them a true threat to go in the net.
Ghana’s best chances came in the second half courtesy of Prince Tagoe. In the 54th minute he sent a lofting cross from the right side over the Serbian defense that met Ayew’s head, but went just wide. Moments later, Tagoe danced through two defenders, into the Serbian box. Ayew followed his cue, letting a shot go in the 56th minute, but the ball sailed high.
In the 60th minute, Gyan leaped high above the Serbia defenders to nod John Pantsil’s long throw-in off the post — surprising given the size of Serbia’s centerbacks Vidic and Lukovic.
Perhaps more stunning for Serbia was Lukovic’s lack of discipline. A lazy foul in the 74th minute earned him his second yellow card of the game and he was dismissed. Lukovic clearly held Gyan’s arm before the Ghana forward went down to the ground.
Eleven minutes later, Gyan converted the penalty kick to seal the game.
“Everybody is happy,” he said. “Not only Ghana, but the whole of Africa.”
---http://davidsradiotv2000.blogspot.com