GRi Sports 05-03-99

Accra (Greater Accra), 5 March  

Emmanuel Zulu, Zambia's most exciting player, has described the Ghana '99 tournament as very successful.

"I don't know of what others might think, but to me, every thing is all right at our levels", he said.

Speaking to newsmen in Accra yesterday, Zulu said the only disappointing thing is the low turn out at both stadiums, which, he added, "is not peculiar to Ghana".

Zulu, one of the favourites for the best player award, described the Lion Ceaux of Cameroon as one of the most impressive teams at the tournament.

He said Ghana and Nigeria have already made their mark at the junior level, but looking at the way the Cameroonians played, especially against Ghana, they could be a force to reckon with at the world cup in Nigeria next April.

Asked whether the Zambians had respect for any of the teams before the tournament, Zulu mentioned Nigeria and said they knew that there was no way Nigeria could beat them in spite of their physique.

The two teams drew 0-0 in their last group B match in Kumasi.

He described group B, comprising Nigeria, Malawi Guinea and Zambia, as the very difficult group and said the group's level of competitiveness was higher than that of group A.

Zulu, who plays for Zambia National Commercial Bank football club, said he has not been approached by any foreign player-agent but expressed the desire to play for Manchester United in England.

Apam (Central Region), 5 March,  

Apam Secondary School (APASS) bagged 329 points to win the Central Region Zone Four athletics competition held at Apam Secondary School yesterday.

They scored 175 and 154 points to place first in both the boys and girls divisions respectively.

Their closet rival, Winneba Secondary came second with 233 points and Potsin Ahmadiyya Secondary, third with 213.8 points.

Mando Secondary School (91.8 points) Enyan Denkyira Secondary school (71 points), Senya Secondary Technical (61.8 points) Bisease Secondary Commercial (49 points), Dawurampong Secondary Technical (23.8 points) Essarkyir Ahmadiyya Secondary (18 points) followed in that order.

In the boys' division, Potsin Ahmadiyya came second with 13.8 points followed closely by Winneba Secondary School with 13 points.Winneba Secondary collected 94 points to place second in the girls' division and Postin Ahmadiyya followed 74 points.

Richard Sackey of Apass broke the 15-year-old 5000 metres record, set in 1984 by Eric Ehuron also of Apass. He clocked 16 minutes 20.50 seconds to beat the old recorod of 16 minutes 27.06 seconds.

Addressing the participants, Mr Kow Anyanful, Gomoa District Chief Executive urged parents and guardians to encourage their wards to participate in sporting activities.

The chairperson of Zone Four Sports Association, Mrs Esther Hamilton advised athletes to abstain from drugs and said success in sports depends on discipline and constant practice.

Kranka (Brong Ahafo), 5 March 

Techiman Ameyaw Junior Secondary School (JSS) defeated their Kranka Islamic counterparts 2-0 in a friendly football match played at Kranka yesterday.

Both goals were scored in the first half.

In a volleyball match, Ameyaw JSS boys beat Kranka

Islamic JSS 2-1 and won the girls encounter by the same margin.

Sunyani (Brong Ahafo), 5 March  

Bofoakwa Tano put up a splendid performance to beat Olympic du sport of Burkina Faso 1-0 in an international friendly soccer match played at Sunyani yesterday.

The match formed part of a training programme for the two sides to assess their strength before their respective soccer leagues resume.

The homesters got the only goal through Papa Yaw in the 51st minute when he connected home a pass from substitute Nii Blankson.

Coach Stephen Adjei of Bofoakwa said after the match that even though his side won, he was not impressed with their performance.

David Asenso, a fomer player of Bofoakwa, who now features for the Burkinabe side said the tour would help his team get exposure for international assignments.

Olympic du Sport will play Kumasi Asante Kotoko in their next friendly match.

Cape Coast (Central Centre), 5 March.  

The Central regional minister, Lt. Col. Charles Agbenaza (rtd) yeterday opened the ninth annual central regional schools and colleges athletic championship with a call on the athletes to avoid the use of drugs to enhance their performance.

The two-day meeting, being organised by the regional schools and colleges association, forms part of activities marking Ghana's 42nd independence anniversary celebration in the region.

The regional minister told the students that governments, heads of schools and colleges all over the world are warning their peoples about the side effect of the use of drugs.

He, therefore, asked them to take those warnings seriously and avoid finding short routes in their endeavour through the use of drugs "since short cuts are always dangerous". Col.Agbenaza congratulated Messrs Legna Construction Company for the impressive work done on the rehabilitation of Adisadel College park, venue for the athletic meeting.

He asked the heads of schools and colleges to collect the approved sports levies to enable the contractor to complete the project without delay to avoid additional expenditure.

St Augustine's secondary school are defending the boys championship trophy they won last year while Apam girls are defending the trophy they lifted for two consecutive years. Nestle Ghana Limited, manufacturers of Milo, Nido, Milk, and other products, have donated quantities of their products to be given to deserving athletes.

Onawat Limited, a stationery dealer in Cape Coast, has donated 250,000 cedis to the athletes.

Kumasi (Ashanti), 5 March, 

Nigeria's Flying Eagles beat their neighbours, Cameroon 2-1 in the first semi-final match of the Africa Under-20 Youth Football Tournament at the Kumasi Sports Stadium in Kumasi today.

The Flying Eagles were propelled to the final berth through the extra brilliance of striker Afolabi Rabiu, who struck twice in this match of equals.

Cameroun kicked-off and nearly caused a stir in the sixth minute when slippery Komol Gaspard dashed along the left as the ball was floated to him but goalkeeper Okoye Sam was quick on his mark to deflect a shot to corner, which was wasted.

The Flying Eagles hit back, earning a corner-kick two minutes later when the Cameroonian defence failed to stop a move as fast-running Babaginda Haruna split the defence.

Backed by the drumming, trumpeting and chanting supporters, the Eagles laboured for 19 minutes before Afolabi Rabiu scored the opener for them from close-range.

His piercing shot went through a forest of legs, hitting the back of the net with great velocity as goalkeeper Kameni Idris Carlos tried in vain to stop the ball.

The Nigerians assumed command of the game as their opponents struggled to keep pace with the trend of affairs.

The Cameroonians equalised in the 29th minute when Komol Gaspard headed past advancing goalkeeper Okoye Sam in a crowded goalmouth action. The stadium vibrated with cheers from the sparse crowd, who hitherto applauded every beautiful move by the Cameroonians.

The Nigerians, as if possessed, went all out but wasted a chance in the 36th minute when Babangida shot off target after he strolled through the defence. They made it 2-1 in the 56th minute through Afolabi Rabiu, whose 30-metre free-kick zoomed into the net as the Cameroonian goalkeeper nose-dived.

After the goal, the Flying Eagles had the ball to themselves as they held their opponents spell-bound with inter-positional changes, quick runs and crisp passes.

Zimbabwean referee Felix Tangawarima showed Adrew Ottou of Cameroon the yellow card in the 70th minute when he handled the ball in the Nigerian half.

In the 80th minute, Cameroon wasted a scoring chance as Mbami Modeste, in a good position to score, fumbled in front of goal.

The Eagles piled the pressure on their opponents, who showed signs of tiredness and therefore could not return the attack till the end. The Nigerians removed their jerseys, did a lap of honour and stopped at the stand of their drumming supporters to acknowledge cheers.

Two-goal hero Afolabi Rabiu won the best player award.

Scorers:

Nigeria- Afolabi Rabiu (19 and 56)

Cameroon- Komol Gaspard (29)

Accra (Greater Accra), 5 Mar  

Ghana's Black Satellites beat their Zambian counterparts 3-1 in the second semi-final match to get to the finals of the African Under-20 Youth Tournament at the Accra Sports Stadium in Accra tonight.

Satellites got their three goals through inside left Skelly Adu-Tutu in the 30th minute, right winger Owusu Afriyie (46th) and central defender Issah Abdul Rahman (59th).

Ccntral defender, Andrew Sinkala scored the only goal for the Zambians from a 35th-minute spot-kick.

The Satellites, therefore, meet Nigeria's Flying Eagles, who beat Cameroon 2-1 in the first semi-final match in Kumasi in the finals on Sunday, March seven in Accra while Zambia and Cameroon clash in the third and fourth place play-off also in Accra on the same day.

The Zambians took the kick-off and lost the ball to the Ghanaians, who mounted pressure on their opponents and earned a corner kick in the fourth minute but wasted it. The Satellites nearly got the opener in the ninth minute but Owusu Afriyie was too slow to connect a beautiful pass from midfielder, Laryea Kingston.

The Zambians came in strongly and almost scored in the 15th minute but a close-range shot from Sinkala sailed over the bar.

Two minutes later, the Satellites earned three corner kicks in a row and wasted all.

The Zambians came into the picture but they failed to utilise two scoring chances they created in the 17th and 18th minutes. Inside left, Chaswe Nsofwa's shot was saved by goalkeeper Sammy Adjei while inside right Ronald Mbambara's attempt was blocked for a corner kick, which was wasted.

The game was confined to the midfield with the Zambians having the upper hand till the 30th minute when Adu-Tutu sent a pas to Afriyie. The slippery winger sent it back to Adu-Tutu, who had moved into the opponents' penalty area, to fire into the net for Ghana's first goal. Bubbling with confidence after the goal, Afriyie tried to move through the Zambian defence but he was brought down by Sinkala for referee Al Shalmani Abdelhakim of Libya to show him the yellow card in the 31st minute.

Issah Rahman was also shown the yellow card a minute later for fouling Mbambara.

The Satellites defence was caught napping as left winger Benard Makufi slipped through it but he was pushed down in the box by right full back George Blay in the 34th minute. Referee Abdelhakim whistled and pointed to the spot and again booked Blay for the offence. Sinkala made no mistake in converting it for Zambia's equaliser to end the first half one-all

On resumption, the Satellites earned a free kick in the Zambian half in the 46th minute when Afriyie was brought down. Midfielder, Awuley Quaye Jnr lobbed the ball over the Zambian defence wall but centre forward Baffour Gyan's attempt at goal was blocked by goalkeeper, Mulife Sitali. The ball rolled onto the path of Afriyie, who tapped it into the net.

Cheered on by the crowd, the Satellites nearly got a goal in the 54thminute but Gyan, who was in a good position to score, handled the ball as he tried to chest it.

Five minutes later the Ghanaians were rewarded for their persistent pressure when they scored the third goal through Issah Rahman from a corner kick.

Limping Baffour Gyan was pulled out for Issah Mohammed, while the Zambians brought on Ian Bakala for Nsfowa in the 64th minute. The Zambians bounced back into action as they piled pressure on the Satellites, who resorted to rough play. Adu Tutu was shown the yellow card for a rough play on Gift Kampamba in the 75th minute.

Emmanul Adjogu came on for Awuley Quaye in the 75th mintue and the Zambians brought on Emmanuel Zulu for Kampamba in the 78th mintue but either side could not score again till the final whistle.

Owusu Afriyie received the best player award from Mr E.T. Mensah, Minister of Youth and Sports.

The tournament takes a break until Sunday, March seven.

Line up (Ghana): Sammy Adjei, George Blay, Hamza Mohammed, Kofi Amoako, Issah Abdul Rahman, Laryea Kingston, Owusu Afriyie, Awuley Quaye Jnr/Emmanuel Adjogu, Baffour Gyan/Issa Mohammed, Skelly Adu Tutu, Aziz Ansah.

Zambia: Makufi Benard, Festus Mangamy, Simutowe Aaron, Zimba Kenny, Kampamba Gift/Zulu Emmanuel, Mbambara Ronald/Lundu Ezzie, Nsofwa Chaswe/Bakala Ian, Mwaba Evans, Kampamba Chintu, Stephen Kabwe, Sinkala Andrew.

 Scorers:

Ghana- Skelly Adu-Tutu (30) Owusu Afriyie (46) Issah Abdul Rahman (59)

 Zambia- Andrew Sinkala (35)