In what was a tale of two halves, the Black Stars of Ghana, displayed a stronger temperament in the second half to overcome a resilient Malian side, 2-0 in their second 2012 Africa Nations Cup (AFCON) Group D match in Franceville, Gabon.
From a Ghanaian perspective, it was a marked improvement on the team’s first game. The team created scoring chances though there were also some nervous moments in defence.
While giving the entire team thumbs up for getting closer to a quarter final slot, here is how the Black Stars’ players fared individually against Mali’s Eagles:
Adam Kwarasey – 5.5
“His performance was more dangerous to Ghana than that of the Malian attackers’’. That was how one of the commentators, late in the game, described Kwarasey’s performance. Mean! You might say, but indeed, Kwarasey on three occasions mistimed crosses thus leaving his goal wide open to danger. Had the Malian attackers been sharper, Ghana would have been singing a different song by now. Those were the few times he was tested and he really came up short on those aerial balls and didn’t look comfortable on the night.
John Pantsil – 6.5
What he lacked in pace, he made up in experience. Captain on the night; he also led the team well. He started off shaky as Mali’s Modibo Maiga skinned him a couple of occasions, but Pantsil raised his game in the second half. He played a cautions game, timed  his runs and even on occasion, notched in pint point crosses, one of which was narrowly headed off by Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew .
Masahudu Alhassan - 6
Ok, so the young man’s inexperience clearly showed, especially in some of his tackles which were rushed and clumsy. A yellow card however curbed his enthusiasm and he settled as the game wore on. His crossing was below par though, as he seemed to be in haste to let go off the ball, anytime he made runs deep into Mali’s half. However, he had an admirable way of picking out his colleagues on the left side with well weighted, curled overhead passes; an obvious advantage of being naturally left footed.
John Boye – 7.5
Boye picked up where he left off in the last game against Botswana. He won several aerial challenges and looked sharp covering for his colleagues when he had to. He also used his physique to maximum effect in dealing with Mali’s strikers. He however got himself engaged in an unnecessary scuffle towards the end of the game and could have attracted a needless card.
Jonathan Mensah - 7
Jonathan was alert to his duties and largely kept things tight at the back. However, lack of regular action in the last couple of months due to injury told on his performance, especially in his battles with big burly Mali striker, Cheick Diabate. The Malian striker was quicker to the ball and drew a couple of fouls as well as free kicks out of Jonathan’s late challenges, one of which struck the post twice.
Anthony Annan – 6.5
He did a pretty decent job, closing down Mali’s midfielders especially in the second half though the team could have used a little bit of direct passing and distribution from the diminutive midfielder.
Emmanuel Agyemang Badu – 6.5
With Mali’s midfielders possessing the ball, Badu’s drives were restricted and he rather concentrated on complementing his defensive midfield partner’s efforts. As expected, he got on the end of a couple of free kicks but to no avail, probably because he left his power shots at the team hotel.
Dede Ayew – 9 (MAN OF THE MATCH)
You latch onto a sweet back flick from Gyan, turn your maker inside out and still have the presence of mind to pick your spot and fire home for your country’s insurance goal. Sounds dreamy right? But Dede was very much awake when he sealed the game for Ghana in the 76th minute with his stupendous strike. Before that, he had won many free kicks by drawing rings around the Malians. It was from one of these free kicks that Gyan scored Ghana’s opener. Dede started slow, especially in the first half, but an indirect assist and a goal later, Dede had become the key to Ghana’s victory.
Kwadwo Asamoah - 8.5
Sublime, lively, flambouyant, are just a couple of the adjectives that sum up Kwadwo’s inspiring output against the Malians. Winning his spot back in the starting line up, Kwadwo showed why he should be one of the first names on the Black Stars’ team sheet as he displayed good movement, engineered several attacks and good team play, especially with Dede, and also managed to shoot powerfully at goal. He came close in the 20th minute but Mali’s goalie denied him what would have capped a great night.
Sulley Muntari – 5.5
Started his second consecutive game at the AFCON but couldn’t find his rhythm. Though he started out wide, he switched roles and got into a more central role apparently to become more involved in play. Sulley’s spirit was willing but his lungs disagreed and he was substituted early in the second half.
Asamoah Gyan – 8
He was largely anonymous in the first half until he scored that stunner of an opener in the 63rd minute. He took the goal very well like the world class striker that he is. The goal boosted his confidence and he became more involved in play, resulting in the assist to Dede for the second goal.
The substitutes:
Charles Takyi: - (5.5) Come on and immediately got involved, only to fade away towards the end.
Samuel Inkoom: Â Â N/A - Came in too late to make any impact.
Derek Boateng: N/A – Barely touched the ball when he came on with only seconds left on the clock.