Accra — Ghana took a step closer to the African Cup of Nations' quarterfinals Thursday by defeating Namibia's Brave Warriors 1-0. Earlier in the day Guinea stunned Morocco with a 3-2 win that left the fate of both teams hanging on the outcome of their next matches.
As for Namibia, two consecutive losses have almost killed their chances of advancing to the next stage.
Ghana's Black Stars barely get by
The Black Stars' second match turned out to be much more difficult than the fans expected, as the brave Namibians found their warrior inner selves and put up a dignified fight.
Although the first half was a one-way game, Michael Essien and his teammates failed to clinch their domination with a goal. Each attempt to score was met by fierce resistance from Namibia's defenders, and at times the Ghanaian forwards' own blunders were to blame.
Thus a number of scoring opportunities, starting with Quincy Owusu Puyol's 11th minute attempt, were missed. Laryea Kingston and Gyan Asamoah both failed twice, the latter's shots hitting the crossbar at the 32nd and 34th minute.
Ghana's supporters became impatient but kept faith. Their deliverance came at the 41st minute when Namibia's defense finally caved after a beautiful back heel trick pulled by Manuel Junior Agogo (1-0).
Guinea's Syli National get in high gear
Despite a 0-1 loss to Ghana in the opening match of the tournament, Guinea came back last night with a 3-2 win over Morocco. To qualify for the next round, they must pull off victory against Namibia by a wide margin and hope that either Morocco or Ghana are held to a draw or suffer a big loss.
But the Syli National (National Elephants) will have to play without their captain, Pascal Feindouno, who was given the tournament's first red card for an apparent assault on a Moroccan player. A regrettable act, given that he scored twice and his departure left Guinea staggering somewhat..
Morocco's Atlas Lions under pressure
Guinea proved a tougher opponent for the Atlas Lions than Namibia's Warriors, whom the Lions had defeated 5-1. Coach Henri Michel's men were surprised by Guinea's spirited determination to avenge its defeat at the hands of Ghana.
Morocco is now under pressure to defeat Ghana if they are to retain their chances of advancing to the next round. A difficult task, considering that as host nation Ghana will surely take advantage of their home turf.
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Although Morocco has enough talented players seriously to challenge Ghana, it remains to be seen to whether they can pull off a win in the absence of Soufiane Alloudi, who is injured. He remains the tournament's best scorer so far, with three goals.
Namibia's Brave Warriors to go home early?
It seems Namibia would like to win their next game, against Guinea, to honor the memory of Ben Bamfuchile, their coach, who died suddenly last month.
But they will likely go home early unless a scenario identical to that of Group D in the 2006 Nations Cup were to repeat itself. That year three of four teams — Zimbabwe, Ghana and Senegal — won one game and lost two.
If this were to happen and Namibia stayed the course, the decision on who advances to the next round will depend solely on goal difference.
