Black Stars shock Zimbabwe Warriors
Kotoko beat Hasaacas 2-0 in a friendly
Black Stars shock Zimbabwe Warriors
Harare (Zimbabwe) 04 - 05 - 2001
The Black Stars on Sunday pulled a surprised 2-1 victory over their Zimbabwean counterparts, the Warriors. The first leg played at the Accra Sports Stadium ended 4-1 in favour of the Stars.
Warriors in an attempt to revenge, promised the nation of a sweet victory on
Sunday. But after taking a 16th minute lead, Ghana playing with only one
Foreign based player, Baffour Gyan, cancelled the lead through Princeton Owusu
Ansah in the 40th minute before Isaac Boakye fetched the match winner on the
90th minute mark.
The Black Stars, on top of the four-team group with 10 points have thus booked one of the two tickets to the group for the 2002 Cup of Nations tournament in Mali.
Zimbabwe's six points, Lesotho six and Democratic Republic of Congo five follow in that order.
Zimbabwe is the only team among the top 20 of African teams not to have made it to the nations cup.
Skipper and inspirer, Peter Ndlovu, however, blamed their defeat on ill luck and praised goalkeeper James Nanor for excellent show.
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Lome (Togo) 04 June 2001
Ghana National Men's Basketball Team decisively thrashed their Togolese counterparts 69-50 in an international friendly match played in Lome at the weekend.
Not only did the Ghanaians win but they also broke a 20 year-old record of successive losses to their next-door neighbours on the Togolese soil.
The Togolese coach Alfred Johnson commenting on his team's defeat said: "We are small men, strong and without any tall shooters."
Indeed the Ghanaian team was made up of players whose average height was over six feet and that paid off as each of them dunked with cheeky ease drawing wild cheers from the crowd.
Ghana's female team coach Ramatu Sulemana, who stood in for hospitalised coach Lawal Peregiono-Braimah, said, "the boys understood my philosophy to win and displayed abundant cohesion and high work rate".
Mime Mensal Falconer became an instant celebrity when 15 minutes after the match, he was mobbed by a bevy of Togolese girls, who struggled to take his autograph.
Stopper Eric Tetteh, marshalled his side into an early 23-14 lead in the first half in which they largely studied their opponents' tactics.
Miss Georgina Djameh, Charge d' Affaires of the Ghana Embassy in Togo accompanied by Mr Dawson Amoah earlier inspected the two teams urging them to play it fairly.
The tall Ghanaians raced into an early 15-10 lead by shooting from the three-point area thus earning many points from dunking.
In search of an antidote to counter the striking prowess of their opponents, the Togolese put up fast breaks as their weapon but effective close marking prevented them from scoring.
Kweku Frimpong, the biggest player on court put up a defensive network together with Richard Darko and in the process neutralized many of the dangerous moves by the hosts.
Unlike their opponents, the Togolese defence could not withstand the ferocity of the attacking play of the Ghanaians and they conceded baskets in rapid succession.
Benin, which was to take part in the contest, failed to turn up thus forcing Ghana to play a second game against the Togolese. Ghana confirmed her supremacy with another 44-40 baskets win.
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Kotoko beat Hasaacas 2-0 in a friendly
Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 04 June 2001
Kumasi Asante Kototo beat Sekondi Hasaacas 2-0 in a friendly soccer match played at the Kumasi Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Kotoko who are proving their worth during the suspension of the Star Premier league scored both goals in the second half after a goalless first half.
The first goal was scored in the 60th minute through Shillah Al-Hassan with a thirty-metre drive, which goalkeeper Theophilus Mensah pushed into the net as he sprawled on the ground in attempt to save the ball.
After this goal Kotoko, who had dominated the game right from the blast of the whistle by referee, Gyansa Nyarko Muller scored the second goal through a penalty converted by Stephen Oduro mid way in the second half.
Kotoko's Abedi Sarfo was fouled in the box and the referee did not hesitate to whistle for the penalty.
Hasaacas tried to reduce the tally but the strong defence of Asante Kotoko made up of Felix Yeboa, Angelo Dedon, Isaac Owusu, Dan Acquah and Fuseini Adam stood gallantly until the end of the match.
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