Video: Ghana stay top after defeating Congo 3-1 in Nations Cup qualifier

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Ghana maintained their place at the top of Group I of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Friday when beating ten-man Congo 3-1 in Kumasi.

 

Second-half goals from Isaac Vorsah, Prince Tagoe and Agyemang Badu sealed the victory for the Black Stars.

 

Goalkeeper Richard Kingson gifted Franco Litsingi with the consolation before Badu’s strike.

 

But it was not a stroll in the park for the home side as they were aided by the sending off of Congo captain Bruce Abdoulaye.

 

The defender was given his marching orders for a second bookable offence just after the break which gave Ghana the numerical strength to win the game.

 

Despite dominating the exchanges in the first half, the Black Stars failed to go beyond the Red Devils defence marshalled by Francis Nganga and Abdoulaye.

 

Tagoe had the brightest Ghanaian chance on 10 minutes but he failed to connect a Kwadwo Asamoah’s pass with goalkeeper Masa Monkola beaten.

 

Just after the interval, Abdoulaye was sent off for his second yellow card after bringing down Asamoah which allowed Black Stars coach to bring into more attackers in the game.

 

Attacker Dominic Adiyiah came on for Kevin Boateng, who was playing his first game on Ghanaian soil while Andre Ayew replaced Sulley Muntari.

 

The substitutions brought the desired result.

 

Adiyiah pace caused problems for the Congolese and on one occasion his effort resulted in a corner kick. Badu’s second successive corner kick was headed in by Vorsah on the hour mark to give Ghana the lead.

 

The Black Stars doubled their advantage six minutes later when enterprising left-back Daniel Opare sent in a cross from the left but Monkola failed to hold Badu’s connecting drive before Tagoe took advantage with a powerful header to extend Ghana’s lead.

 

Litsingi restored hope for Congo as he persevered by putting Kingson under pressure from a back pass on 72 minutes to make the score 2-1.

 

But man-of-the-match Badu unleashed a fierce drive from 20 yards in the 78^th minute to seal the victory for the Black Stars.

 

The win moves the four-time champions to ten points, three more than Sudan, who travel to face Swaziland on Sunday.

 

The victory assures the Black Stars of a top-two finish while Congo cannot qualify for the tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

Ghana line-up: Richard Kingson, John Paintsil, Daniel Opare, Isaac Vorsah, John  Mensah, Agyemang Badu, Kevin Prince Boateng (Dominic Adiyiah), Michael Essien (Derek Boateng), Prince Tagoe, Kwadwo Asamoah, Sulley Muntari (Andre Ayew).

 

Watch video of the goals of the Congo game below:

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Source : MNTFootball.com