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Arsenal FC midfield dynamo Thomas Partey made the difference as Ghana pipped Zimbabwe by a goal to nil in Harare on Tuesday afternoon.
It was the fourth game of the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers with Ghana determined to defeat the Zimbabweans to keep the dream of traveling to Qatar next year.
Prior to today’s game, Ghana had tamed Zimbabwe in the third game last Saturday at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium by 3:1 with Kudus Mohammed, Thomas Partey and Andre Ayew as the scorers.[ads2]
It was the second game for newly appointed Black Stars head coach Milovan Rajevac who replaced former Ghana international CK Akonnor at the dugout.
The early minutes of the first half saw the host country dominating possession, trying everything to get the opener but the Ghana defence led by Columbus Crew ace defender Jonathan Mensah stood on their guard to ensure that no ball enter Ghana’s net.[ads3]
Ghana started settling and begun bossing the game with Thomas Partey and Iddrisu Baba controlling the midfield while Kudus Mohammed and Kamaldeen Suleymana torment the defenders of the host.
Former Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey broke the deadlock for Ghana in the 31st minute with a sumptuous free-kick goal.
Ghana begun pushing for more goals but the likes of Kudus Mohammed, Benjamin Tetteh, Jordan Ayew failed to utilize the chances with Ghana still leading the pack till the first half break.
Both sides returned from the break on a different energy but Ghana managed to boss the game.
Ajax FC midfielder Kudus Mohammed nearly had the second goal for Ghana in the 51st minute but his strike hit the crossbar.
Jordan Zamoura could have snatched the parity for Zimbabwe but his strike in the 54th minute missed the pole by inches.[ads4]
Coach Milovan Rajevac started throwing more men into the game, substituting Kamaldeen Suleymana in the 59th minute for Daniel Kofi Kyere.
Ten minutes after his introduction, Kofi Kyere came close to getting his first Black Stats goal as his strike missed the Zimbabwe poles by inch.
Kudus Mohammed tried another strike in the 70th minute but this time around missed the poles.
Unfortunately for Ghana, defender Alexander Djiku picked an injury in the 73rd minute and was replaced by Celta Vigo ace defender Joseph Aidoo.
Aidoo in a few minutes after being introduced into the game, nearly gave out the Zimbabweans an opportunity to equalize but the timely intervention of goalkeeper Jojo Wollacot saved Ghana from conceding.
Coach Rajevac effected another changes by replacing Jordan Ayew with Al Fayha winger Samuel Owusu, Andre Ayew for Kudus Mohammed and Caleb Ekubah coming in for Benjamin Tetteh all in the 85th minute.
Despite the changes, the scoreline didn’t changed as Ghana ended the game as victors kind courtesy Thomas Party’s free-kick goal.
Ghana now sit first on the table with nine points, with two points separating them and South Africa who face Ethiopia in Johannesburg later today.[ads5]
