Ghana's hard-fought victory over debutants Botswana on Tuesday could serve as just the tonic they need to push on to the latter stages of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Black Stars largely controlled the game, until a red card to skipper John Mensah, who had earlier scored the only goal of the game, left them playing out the final 24 minutes with 10 men.
Coach Goran Stevanovic will have learned a lot about his side in this match, their weaknesses and potential problem areas, and he will have plenty of food for thought in the coming days.
The selection of youngster Jordon Ayew was a surprise and perhaps needs a rethink for the next game. But Stevanovic will be pleased that his players came through a tough test, one that will have prepared them well for the challenges to come.
The red card to John Mensah is a blow for the upcoming games against Mali and Guinea, but he does have a ready-made replacement in Jonathan Mensah, a player who performed so admirably at the 2010 FIFA World Cup as a fresh-faced 19-year-old.
It was a relief for Stevanovic to get the three points under his belt, aware that other big names have stumbled at the first hurdle in this competition.
"We controlled the game until the red card for Mensah," Stevanovic told reporters. "We created some chances but they closed down the game with 10 men behind the ball. All the same, it was very important that we won our first game of a tournament that has already produced some surprises."
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Botswana gave a superb account of themselves and might well have got something from the game had they not had a header cleared off the line in the second half, or had Jerome Ramatlhakwane managed to run two extra yards before being brought down by John Mensah, which stopped him from reaching the penalty area and winning his side a spot-kick.
Coach Stanley Tshosane says this has all been a learning experience for his side, and praised the performance of his team against one of the continent's giants.
"I'm not happy with the result, but am with the performance, especially in the second half," Tshosane said.
"We were cautious at the beginning because we have never played Ghana before at this level and so we preferred to study how they play."
There are no "easy" games in this pool. Both Mali and Guinea will provide stern tests for Ghana and Botswana respectively on Sunday. But with four tight games still to come, it is anybody's group to win.
