Sweet and sour Mensah lifts Ghana to win

FRANCEVILLE, Gabon: Captain John Mensah scored a rare goal and got sent off as African Nations Cup favourites Ghana laboured to a 1-0 win over lowly Botswana in their opening Group D match yesterday.

The giant defender, who has played just one league game since returning to Olympique Lyon in France this season, bundled home the ball from close range following a corner after 25 minutes.

The Botswana defenders, who before then looked organised and fired-up, were guilty of ball-watching when the experienced Mensah guided the ball home with his knee after Asamoah Gyan’s flick-on.

The Black Stars enjoyed more of the ball in the first quarter-of-an-hour, but hardly threatened the goal of their opponents, who packed their defence.

In the opening moments of the game, the lively Andre Ayew was thrice felled around the Botswana box as Ghana went in search of an early goal.

Botswana often had 10 men behind the ball, with only striker Jerome Ramatlhakwane staying up front as they tried to contain the onslaughts of the Ghanaians.

After Mensah’s decisive goal, Ghana continued to dictate the pace of the game.

In the 32nd minute, Botswana defender Ndiyapo Letsholathebe literally put his body on the line to keep out a full-blooded Sulley Muntari shot from the edge of the box.

Six minutes later, Jordan Ayew was set up by Muntari at the top of the Botswana box, but his shot was weak and did not trouble Botswana’s 35-yearold goalkeeper, Modiri Marumo.

Ghana were now more daring, and soon after Gyan found his way through the packed Botswana defence, but his shot flew off target.

But Mensah then received the first red card of the tournament, co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, in the 66th minute when he knocked over Ramatlhakwane in a chase for the ball on the counter attack.

Ramatlhakwane had been released by a long clearance out of defence and Mensah caught him on the edge of the penalty area and was sent off for a professional foul.

The Zebras, now with a numerical advantage finished, the stronger, but they failed to restore parity.

Botswana, who were cagey and defensive in the first half, were more adventurous after the interval.

This approach almost paid dividends six minutes into the second half when they came close to drawing level, but Ramatlhakwane’s header from inside the box was cleared acrobatically on the goal line by Rennes defender John Boye.

Mensah has now scored nine goals in his senior career, three of them for his country.

He missed the last Nations Cup, in which Ghana finished runners-up, because of injury and will now sit out the Black Stars’ next Group D match against Mali in Franceville on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a speculative effort from Bakaye Traore flew high into the net to secure a hard-fought 1-0 win for Mali over Guinea in their opening Group D match last night.

The French-born midfielder struck a firm shot from just outside the penalty area to separate the west African rivals, the last of the 16 teams at this year’s tournament in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to get their campaigns underway.

The 29th-minute goal came after a strong run from Modibo Maiga who cut the ball back for Traore to blast home as Seydou Keita scampered out of the way.

On a night of plentiful chances, it was the only accurate finish as both sides traded blows in a high-tempo game that contrasted with some of the pedestrian efforts in the first four days of the continental championship. – Reuters, AFP