The Black Stars of Ghana have finally qualified into the finals of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola after beating Nigeria by one goal to nil.
Ghana scored in the 20th minutes into the first half through Asamoah Gyan who is now a hero in Accra after also scoring another goal which made them to reach into the semifinals last week against Burkina Faso.
Nigeria could have responded in the 60 minutes into the second half when Obafeni Martins made a fabulous shot but Kingston made a brilliant save to leave the score line at a reasonable 1-0.
The Super Eagle forced their arch rivals to play in the backyard when they exchanged good passes although at last did not yield anything.
Yakubu would have scored another goal in 71th minute after receiving a good cross from Obasi but unfortunately he was ruled offside.
Ghana made several counter attacks but their shots were slow and were off target.
In the 75th minute Yakubu who came as a subsitute replacing Odemwinge in 70th minute claimed a penalty when he was fouled into the penalty yard box but the South African referee stretched his hands forward saying 'play on'.
With no doubt, Kingston, the Ghana's goalkeeper will claim man of the match as he made good and nice brilliat saves which were coming like lightning from Super Eagles side.
Few minutes after the game, Nigeria captain Peter Odemwingie said that Ghana played well and deserved the victory
"I think we have used all the luck we had so far in this tournament. Ghana deserved the victory they played very well. We played as individuals not as a team and I think we need more tactical flexibility than to play 4-3-3 all the time. We need to play more attacking football. We played with one striker and it did not help us and we did not get a lot of chances. We could have played much better," he told the BBC.
The Black Stars goal score Gyan it is appreciable for him and the players because this is time they have been waiting for since 1992 hwen they reached into finals.
"It's very very appreciable for me and the players because it's been a while since the last time we qualified for the final in 1992 so this is a moment we were all hoping for. All the expectation was on me as I'm the leading striker and I needed to score but that is what I did. We are ready now to play any country at all. We are disciplined and we don't fear anyone at all."
Right now Ghana is expected to play the winner between Algeria and Egypt game which kicks off few hours from now.
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