That’ll be your lot from me. Cheers for reading, and take care of each out there.
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Well, that was a grind for Ghana. They dominated the first half, but lost all of their momentum in the second, and it was only due to some errant long shots and crossing from Uganda - who improved after the break - that they hung onto their victory.
Full-time: Ghana 1-0 Uganda
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeep
90 mins + 2: Andre Ayew wins a free-kick on the right (read: he was chucked to the floor by Wasswa), then tries to keep the ball there, the wily old fox.
90 mins: Ochaya flings a cross into the box from the left, but Brimah claims that one with more confidence.
88 mins: Shaban tumbles in the area, but the referee shrewdly spots that he had run into Amartey and thrown himself to the ground, rather than being actively felled by his opponent.
87 mins: Oh my! Brimah very nearly gifts Uganda a goal, barreling out for a cross and punching it straight at Miya, but the forward can’t control the ball properly. What a chance that could’ve been.
85 mins: One final change for Ghana - Afriyie Acquah is on for Jordan Ayew. ANd then they have a great chance to wrap up the game, as Atsu latches onto a ball over the top, but Onyango produces a wonderful save from the powerful shot at goal.
82 mins: Oh! So close for Uganda. It looked like the Ghana defence was opening up, as Massa gets down the right and puts in a nice cross, but the ball is just whipped away as Serunkuma pulls back his foot to shoot on the edge of the six-yard box.
80 mins: A defensive blunder nearly lets Jordan Ayew in, but he’s wrestled to the ground by Wasswa. From the free-kick, Onyango comes out to claim the cross when he absolutely should not have done, but he somehow claims the ball in the air, tumbling to the ground and immediately springing up to get rid of the ball.
77 mins: A lot of overhit crosses from Ghana. There’s another one, from Acheampong, after good work from Andre Ayew. That one was so strong it sparked a Uganda counter-attack.
75 mins: For all their dominance in the second-half, Uganda have been largely restricted to longish range shots. That’s partly their own fault, shooting when they could perhaps have tried to pierce the defence a little more carefully. There’s another one, as Miya scuffs a shot that Brimah saves.
72 mins: And a switch for Ghana now - Gyan is off, and Emmanuel Badu is withdrawn. A more defensive switch from Avram Grant, recognising the tide of the game, but going too defensive with only a goal lead and 18 minutes left could be an error.
70 mins: A relatively rare Ghana attack arrives, but Partey’s shot flies over the bar. A change for Uganda, and Micho is going for it: striker Geofrey Serunkuma comes on for defender Isinde. An attacking tactical rejig ahoy.
69 mins: Another Uganda attack, another Massa shot, but this one dribbles at Brimah. Massa had better options there, but Uganda’s control over the game continues.
68 mins: A free-kick to Uganda about 35 yards out, which Massa takes a Roberto Carlos run-up to, wallops the thing towards goal but it’s always rising, and goes over the bar.
67 mins: Ghana try to exert something approaching control to the game, but Partey on the right balloons his cross way over the waiting attackers in the centre. Uganda then counter-attack, and substitute Shaban chases a ball with Boye, gets a toe to it and almost gets the ball past Brimah, but the keeper just about keeps it out.
64 mins: Ochaya runs forwards from the left, assesses his options, doesn’t see a great deal to get excited about so launches a long-range shot, but it goes wide. They’re getting closer, though.
62 mins: From the corner the ball breaks out to Mawejje again, who rifles a shot that goes just, just, just wide of the post. Fine effort, that. Uganda on top now.
61 mins: Some neat, one-touch passing from Uganda creates an attacking chance. Two Ghana defenders leave the ball for each other and the ball breaks to Mawejje, whose long-range effort is deflected wide.
59 mins: Ghana’s first attack of much note in the second half when Jordan Ayew dashes behind the Uganda defence, at first thinking he was offside, but delays his cross too long. So long, in fact, that the linesman flags for it going out of play on the byline, even if that decision did look a little harsh.
57 mins: Sub for Uganda now, as Muhammad Shaban comes on for Luwaga Kizoto. Mawejje tries a shot from somewhere in Libreville, which goes well, well, well over the bar. Fine optimism, but daft in the end.
54 mins: Atsu escapes the attentions of his marker for a moment, but Gyan is caught offside from the ball over the top. Again, a scrappy start to the half.
52 mins: A relatively slow start to the second half, just as was the case with the first. Uganda seem to be doubling up on Atsu, but he still manages to get a cross into the box from the right, which is cleared.
50 mins: Oloya tries to chisel some sort of attacking chance out on the right, but the ball dribbles out of play, but not before he yells some sort of non-specific complaint to the linesman, standing by.
48 mins: Gyan pulls off a backheel. It doesn’t come to anything, but it’s nice that they’re trying to entertain us all.
46 mins: And with that, we’re off again. Even in the early moments, Uganda look a little more positive.
Sub at half-time for Uganda - off goes Azira, and on comes Moses Oloya.
Before the second half starts, could we recommend you read today’s Fiver?
Well, Ghana should probably be further ahead than just the one goal, such has been their dominance, but Uganda did at least show some attacking intent later in the half. Atsu has been good for Ghana, providing plenty of threat from the right, but Avram Grant might be fretting slightly that they only broke through thanks to a moment of daftness from Isinde.
Half-time: Ghana 1-0 Uganda
Peeeeeeeep.
45 mins + 1: Mawejje tries the most ambitious of shots, from about 30 yards out, but it merely dribbles into the arms of Brimah. A little attacking intent from Uganda though, at last.
45 mins: Another Uganda attack. Too little too late, perhaps, but they force a corner. Miya whips over a brilliant cross, it looks perfect for Isinde at the back post, but he somehow completely misses the header. Not sure if he was put off by a defender going up in front of him, or just took his eye off the ball. Not a great half for Isinde.
43 mins: Was about to write that Uganda haven’t had a sniff so far, but there’s a chance for them. Suddenly some space opens up for Miya on the right side of the area, he shoots at goal but it just misses at the near post, skimming the woodwork in the process.
40 mins: Atsu skins Ochaya on the right, cuts back, skins him again and shoots, but while there’s some power behind the effort it’s straight at Onyango.
38 mins: He’s taken off on a stretcher, and replaced by Frank Acheampong, who needs a hand getting his skintight shirt on.
37 mins: Baba Rahman’s in trouble again, after stretching for a ball on the edge of the Uganda area. He immediately calls for a sub.
36 mins: Lovely stuff from Boye, who is slightly and briefly flummoxed by a dodgy bounce in the pitch, his clearance from the edge of his own area flies up in the air, and he cooly solves the problem by back-heading the ball to his keeper.
34 mins: Kizito absolutely wipes out a camera after tumbling off the pitch. That’s the most constructive thing a Uganda player has done in a while.
GOAL! Ghana 1-0 Uganda (Andre Ayew 32)
Cooly slotted straight down the middle.
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PENALTY TO GHANA
31 mins: That could be the stupidest thing anyone’s done on a football pitch. Gyan dispossesses Isinde in the Uganda area, to which the defender reacts by pulling him back. He’s booked, and Andre Ayew steps up...
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29 mins: Great chance for Andre Ayew, as Jordan cuts one back from the right, into his path about 12 yards out, but while the shot is perfectly lined up for his right foot, he tries one with the outside of his left, and it dribbles into Onyango’s arms.
27 mins: Huh. Rahman is fine. Or seems fine. Or is fine enough to come back on. Huh.
25 mins: Baba Rahman runs down the left but can’t get the ball off Kizoto, but more importantly for Ghana he goes down holding his left...either knee or hamstring. Either way, it doesn’t look great.
22 mins: Andre Ayew skips down the left and dinks a delightful cross into the area, but a backpedalling Gyan takes it away from the waiting Atsu, who would’ve had a clear shot on goal. The ball eventually does find its way to Atsu, but he blazes his effort over the bar.
20 mins: Another Gyan header: this time he gets his whole head to the ball, but the cross - from Atsu - was a little more lofted, so he had to do more of the work. It goes just wide again, and Ghana are well on top now.
19 mins: Brilliant cross from deep on the right from Afful, pinging the ball into a crowded box where Gyan gets...something on the ball - could’ve been head, back or shoulder - and directs it just wide of the far post. The closest Ghana have come so far, though.
17 mins: Atsu seems to be Ghana’s most potent threat so far: he turns Ochaya inside out on the right side of the box, but his low cross is blocked, behind for a corner.
15 mins: Atsu slips a neat ball down the channel to Jordan Ayew, who times his run perfectly to elude the offside trap and is behind the defence. Alas, he takes his eye off the ball for just a fraction too long, thus has to stretch for the cross - his brother being the main target in the middle - and a bobble conspires to make it an unsuccessful effort all round.
12 mins: Andre Ayew gets the ball on the right of the area and has two options: Atsu in plenty of space to the right, and Gyan, marked by a couple of defenders, to the left. He tries a scooped pass to the latter. It does not succeed.
10 mins: Mawejje pulls the textbook footballer trick of clearly pulling an opponent to the floor then holding his hands up in astonished innocence. He seems keen to give Afful - and indeed the officials - a tricky afternoon.
9 mins: The pitch is very sandy.
6 mins: First chance for Ghana: Jordan Ayew skips down the left, reaches the byline and cuts it back to Atsu on the edge of the box. However he dummies the ball for Partey, whose first touch is a bit iffy so the subsequent volley is slightly too far ahead of him. Thus, the volley flies high, high in the friendly sky.
4 mins: First shot of the day, as Mawejje does well to rob Afful on the Uganda left, he races down the line, cuts in and shoots, but Ghana keeper Brimah drops on a routine save.
3 mins: Early thoughts: scrappy, Christian Atsu is quite a weird shape, the pitch is very sandy. Other than that, nothing much has happened.
1 min: We’re away. Ghana attack straight away, but the ball bounces off Jordan Ayew and scuttles out for a goal kick.
Anthem wars: Uganda’s is done no favours by the rendition, which seems...erm...rather discordant. That, or completely out of tune. Ghana’s sounded like it was played through the demo feature on a child’s Casio keyboard.
The teams are in the tunnel. There’s lots of faintly nervous-looking hopping around. A man is making sure the Ghana players are lined up properly. A man in a suit is leading the players out. We’re on.
Want a quiz? An Africa Cup of Nations quiz? Then step right up, friends.
Team news
Ghana
Brimah; Afful, Amartey, Boye, Rahman; Andre Ayew, Partey, Mubarak, Atsu; Jordan Ayew, Gyan.
Uganda
Onyango; Iguma, Wasswa, Isinde, Ochaya; Kizito; Mawejje, Azira, Kizoto; Massa, Miya.
Preamble
Afternoon all. Group stages of tournaments are funny things. On the one hand you can have lots of cagey, uncertain performances by teams not really sure what they’re doing yet, but on the other, with the jeopardy of a knockout away from the thoughts of teams, you can see some goal-filled, chaotic encounters. Thus far - and with the caveat that we’re only six games in - we’ve seen both, with Togo and Ivory Coast jousting their way cautiously to a 0-0 draw last night, but Zimbabwe and Algeria weighing in with a 2-2 draw and Guinea-Bissau holding the hosts on the opening day. A mixed bag indeed.
So what will today hold? Well, the good news is that the managers don’t like each other, so that adds a little needle to the whole affair. As you’ll have read in Ed’s piece linked below, Ghana big dog Avram Grant and Uganda boss Milutin Sredojevic - ‘Micho’, to you - go back a long way, and have a habit of haranguing each other in public. Lovely stuff.
So here’s hoping for at least five goals, a solid dollop of incompetence to keep things spicy and for the managers to have a fight on the touchline. Stay tuned.
Kick-off: 16.00 GMT.
Nick will be here soon enough. Until then, read Ed Aarons’s piece on Micho the meticulous:
“Uganda was the first country in Africa that I worked in and your first love stays with you forever,” sighs Milutin Sredojevic – known as “Micho”. “I love and respect the country and feel it is a part of me.”
As international coaches go, it’s fair to say the man who has taken Uganda to their first Africa Cup of Nations finals since 1978 takes his job very seriously. On Tuesday the Cranes face Ghana in a rematch of their 2-0 defeat against the Black Stars in the final nearly 40 years ago as they attempt to qualify from a group that also includes Mali and the seven-times winners Egypt with a squad that is almost totally comprised of players from clubs in Africa.
Read more here:
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