Ghana are now on top of Group
B in the Africa
Cup of Nations
ongoing in South
Africa after
beating Mali 1-0 in their second
game of the
group stage on
Thursday. A penalty goal from Espanyol
midfielderMubarak Wakaso ensured the four-time African
champions got their first win of
the continental showpiece after
drawing with DR Congo in their
opening game on Sunday. Wakaso put the Ghanaians in the
lead in the 38th minute when his
kick went past Malian goalkeeper
Samassa Mamadou from the spot. The first half of the game was
one with very few chances as
both defences remained solid but
a good piece of play saw
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu win a
penalty off Tamboura which was converted by Wakaso. The second
half saw both teams a little bit
more adventurous but neither
really threw caution to the wind
as the Black Stars saw out the
rest of the game. The game started quietly as both
teams looked content to test the
waters and keep things cool, but
Ghana keeper Fatau Dauda had
an uncomfortable moment after a
slip forced him to handle the ball outside the area leading to a free
kick on the edge of the penalty
box which Seydou Keita almost
scored from, hitting the ball just
wide of the post. Mali started to get the better of
the exchanges after that, but
failed to really threaten, with
Ghana also showing glimpses of
their ability as Asamoah Gyan's
effort was diverted for a corner after he received the ball in the
penalty area. The Black Stars
finally started to find their
rhythm but seemed to be
struggling to break through the
Eagles back line as Harrison Afful and then Wakaso took shots from
distance with none of them
causing problems for Samassa. The goalkeeper, however, was
thanking his stars a few minutes
later when a glancing header
from Agyemang-Badu had him
completely beaten, but his post
came to his rescue. The Udinese midfielder was played through on
goal a few minutes later only to
be brought down by Tamboura
for a penalty which was slammed
home by Wakaso to open the
scoring with 38 minutes on the clock. Both sides looked to break the
other team down after the goal
but none of the keepers were
really tested before the whistle
blew for the end of the first half. Ghana started the second half
the hungrier team as they looked
to add to their goal with Albert
Adomah and Gyan coming close,
though Mali managed to cause
Dauda a couple of uncomfortable moments in between with some
very good deliveries into the box. An Isaac Vorsah mistake seemed
to have handed Mali with a
chance but the Black Stars
defenders quickly reorganized to
spare their colleague's blushes.
Much of the game was concentrated in the middle of the
field after that, with only a long
range effort from Agyemang-
Badu breaking the ice as he
forced Samassa into a save but
the goalkeeper calmly claimed from the corner. Mali were then
on the attack, causing a goal
mouth scramble with another long
ball into the box, but Ghana
managed to clear once more as
the game looked to be finally opening up. Solomon Asante almost made a
spectacular entrance into the
game as his effort whizzed past
the post just seconds after
coming on for Adomah. Mali
managed a couple more forays forward but failed to find an
equaliser as they ended the game
on the losing side. Mali will now have to get a result
in their final game against DR
Congo if they are to qualify for
the next stage while the
Ghanaians will be feeling more
confident about their chances with their final game against Niger
who are considered to be the
weakest team in the group.