Amandla Vol. 10 Issue 7 July 15 - August 16
Page 19
Ghana Beats Nigeria 2 Nil Black Meteors qualify for All Africa Games Ghana seem to be confirming their current superiority over Nigeria in football. After stopping Africa’s champions, the Falcons from the All Africa Games they have gone further to make a stronger statement over Nigeria by eliminating Nigeria’s Olympic team from the festival in Mozambique slated for September. Kumasi, July 10, GNA - Ghana's Black Meteors on Sunday beat Nigeria's Dream 5 by two goals to nil at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi to qualify for the All Africa Games in Mozambique in September 2011. The two goals came from Emmanuel Agyeman Badu in the 11th minute and Richard Mpong in the 70th minute to enable the Meteors to qualify on the awaygoal-rule, having lost 1-3 in the first leg match played in Nigeria a fortnight ago. The Black Meteors played their hearts out knowing very well that their pride was at stake.
With Samuel Inkoom playing his usual roving role and Agyeman Badu, Dominic Adiyia and Mpong leading the attack, the Nigerians, who descended on the field hoping to maintain their lead and thus qualify, could not withstand the pressure. It was the Nigerians, who first carried the battle to their Ghanaian counterparts when their striker Otubanjo Yusuf sent in a powerful drive that sailed over the bar in the second minute of the game. Sensing danger Meteors counter-attacked and in one of their forays earned a free-kick, which Agyeman Badu elected himself to take. His shot from 20 metres went straight into the net leaving Goalkeeper Afeloklai Theophilus stranded. The Meteors threw everything into the game in search of the elixir of life but all the chances that came their way were wasted. In the 44th minute Mpong received the yellow card for rough play to end the first half. The Nigerians resumed the sec-
Sports Michael Essien Suffers Knee Injury
ond session strongly and nearly levelled up in the 50th minute but Otubanjo's low drive was perfectly saved by Dan= iel Adjei in Meteors' goal. The Meteors quickly turned the tables and had a chance to increase the score in the 63rd minute but substitute Ben Acheampong fumbled. Determined to carry the day and qualify at all cost at the expense of their arch rivals, Adiyia in a move gave a cross to Mpong, who sent a thunderbolt of a shot into the Nigerian net to set the stadium agog. Line Up: Meteors - Daniel Adjei; Samuel Inkoom; Masawudu Alhassan; Ahmed Adams; Edward Kpodo; Isaac Cofie; Richard Mpong/Aziz Tetteh; Agyeman Badu; Sadick Adams/Gladson Wawako; Dominic Adiyia, and Salifu Latif/Ben Acheampong. NIGERIA: Afelokhai, Anyanwu, Lawal, Amoda, Igiebor, Ehiosun, Otekpa, Suswam, Otubanjo, Udoh, Oduamadi.
Ghana housed in Group B for All Africa Games Accra, July 12, GNA – Ghana’s Black Meteors has been housed in Group B alongside Cameroon, Uganda, and Senegal for the All African Games slated for Maputo, Mozambique after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) conducted the draw for the quadrennial meeting. The draw was conducted at the CAF headquarters, Cairo on Tuesday by CAF General Secretary, Hicham El Amrani for the 10th edition of the quadrennial multi-sport event scheduled for 3-18 September. The Meteors qualified at the expense of the ‘Dream Team V’ of
Nigeria with goals from Emmanuel Agyemang Badu and Richard Mpong to give Ghana the two unanswered goals required to overturn a 1-3 deficit in the first leg meeting. Host Mozambique are in Group A with South Africa, Libya and Madagascar. Also housed in Group B is the female U-20 team, the Black Princesses who also incidentally defeated Nigeria to reach the finals slated for Maputo. The Princesses will be up against South Africa’s Bayana Bayana, Zimbabwe and rising forces, Tanzania for the two-week long
continental version of the Olympic Games. Mozambique, Cameroon, Guinea and Algeria are placed in Group A. The Princesses lost 1-2 to the South Africans when the two sides met at the semi-final of the competition held in Algiers in 2007. While the Princesses were bronze medalists at the Algiers event, the Meteors exited the competition at the Group stage but hope to make amends this time round with the high caliber of youngsters to desirous for laurels.
Kenya defeat Ghana in Cricket Match Kenya defeated Ghana by 5 wickets in a match of the ICC Africa Region Division One Twenty20, today, July 9, 2011, at Lugogo Cricket Oval in Kampala Earlier, Ghana’s Captain, Peter Ananya, won the bat and elected to bat first to set a competitive total on the board for the opposition. The Ghanaian opening pair started the inning with confidence, particularly Francis Bakiweyem, who provided the start his team was looking for and faced Kenya’s bowling line up with courage to score 34 runs. On the other hand, James Vifah was aggressive, smashing three boundaries before giving up his wicket to Harrison Angila on 16. After Vifah’s departure, the 17year-old, Julius mensah joined Bakiweyem, and tried to build up a partnership; however, he failed to contribute for Ghana, and lost his wicket on 12 as he was runout. Meanwhile, Lawrence Ateak came at the wicket and played brilliantly to put up a partnership of 35 runs with the opening batsman. However, Bakiweyem did not sustain the momentum to support his partner, and threw away his wicket on 34. After the loss of 3 wickets, Ghana’s batsmen, including Ateak, failed to show resistance in front of the Kenyan bowling
Chelsea midfielder has sustained a knee injury in training. A statement from the club said: 'Michael suffered an injury to his right knee during training this week. 'He will undergo tests over the next few days to determine the extent of that injury. Until we have the full results of those tests we will not be commenting further.' The 28-year-old Ghanaian was ruled out for more than six months in 2008 when he sustained cruciate ligament damage. Essien also missed the 2010 World Cup because of a knee problem, and the midfielder's latest setback is a blow to new Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas, who is preparing his squad for their trip to the Far East, where they will compete in the Asia Cup. Essien joined the Blues from French club Lyon in 2005 in a £24.4m deal and has gone to establish himself as a key player at Stamford Bridge. He has helped Chelsea to two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, as well as the Carling
Cup in 2007. Despite being ruled out for the majority of the 2008-09 campaign, Essien has amassed 229 appearances for the London side, scoring 26 goals. While the club have not elaborated on the severity of the problem, Essien will be mindful of what happened to him while playing for Ghana in a World Cup qualifier against Libya three years ago. On that occasion he landed awkwardly during the match and was subsequently told he faced a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Meanwhile, the Blues have named Michael Emenalo as their new sporting director. Emenalo was assistant first-team coach for most of last season, taking on the role after Ray Wilkins left the club. The 45-year-old will oversee a scouting network and youth development programmes, as well as supporting Villas-Boas. A statement on Chelsea's website. read: 'Michael takes on a vital role that will assist the overall long-term football strategy of the club.' - BBC
Swazis Celebrate Essien Injury Ghana’s Cricket Team line up. Ateak gave away his wicket on 36 while the rest of batsmen failed to move the score board as Ghana set the target of 141 runs for Kenya. Ghana’s bowlers were average with their performance. Duncan Allan and Anglia took 1 wicket each while Joseph Ochieng picked 2. In reply, the Kenyan opener Allan was right on the money with the bat. He made 37 runs on 31 balls with the help of 6 fours. The remaining batsmen however, were not upto the mark and wickets kept tumbling without much contribution in terms of score. However, the middle order batsman, Jignesh Hirani, played sen-
sibly according to the situation, and made 23 runs on 24 balls, which eventually helped his team to seal the victory by 5 wickets. Irfan Karim supported Hirani by scoring 18 runs on 13 balls, whereas Ochieng made 14 runs and Angila scored 11.
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Swaziland media are celebrating Michael Essien’s injury after a knee problem ruled him out of the clash between Ghana and Swaziland in September. The country’s biggest newspaper the ‘Swazi Observer’ wrote the screaming headline “Joy for Sihlangu as Essien ruled out” in response to the Chelsea star’s injury. The Swaziland national football team, nicknamed Shilangu, fear being massacred during the return leg of the Group I Africa Cup of Nations qualifier to be played in Kumasi. The absence of the midfield powerhouse gives them hope of causing an upset against the group leaders but even without Essien last year, the Black Stars thrashed them 3-0 in their own backyard. They had feared a massacre in Ghana with Essien’s return to the side but they are expressing their happiness that the midfielder will not be available because of the injury. Essien will be out of action for the next six months after undergoing surgery to repair a
Mzwandile “Muzi” Ginindza, captain of the Swazi national team ruptured anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus. The 28-year-old twisted his knee as he landed awkwardly last Thursday, the first day of double sessions at Chelsea, where the first team returned to Cobham to begin preparations under André Villas-Boas. Ghanasoccernet.com