And that’s all from me! I’ll be back shortly with the thrillingly contrasting Cambridge United v Manchester United game. Until then, bye!
Incredible scenes! It was, in truth, an extremely dreary match, in which the first decent shot on target took 92 minutes to turn up, but at least it then went in. And it opens up the group, and the competition, with Ghana – who were about 90 seconds from basically being able to book their flights home – suddenly eyeing up the quarter-finals.
6 - Asamoah Gyan has now scored in each of his last six appearances for Ghana. Vital.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 23, 2015
In Ghana, what Asamoah Gyan just did is called scoring a "Mallam goal". Don't ask me what it means.
— Gary Al-Smith (@garyalsmith) January 23, 2015
Final score: Ghana 1-0 Algeria
90+4 mins: It’s all over! Ghana have won! And with South Africa to play in their final game, the tournament has opened up for them in an instant.
90+4 mins: And Ghana have about 30 seconds to see out.
Updated
GOAL! There's been a GOAL! A GOAL! Ghana 1-0 Algeria (Asamoah Gyan, 90+1 mins)
Ghana boot the ball downfield from defence, Gyan ruthlessly outpaces Medjani and then slams a right-footed shot across goal and in from 15 yards. A goal!
Updated
90+1 mins: A free-kick from deep is sent into the Algeria penalty area and flicked goalwards. M’bolhi picks it up. It’s notionally a second shot on target, though both have been extremely weak.
90 mins: Afful crosses low, and there are 10 outfield players in the penalty area to scrap for the ball. For a brief but glorious moment there is the possibility that the first swinging boot to connect will be Ghanaian, and the ball will fly into the back of the net. And then it’s cleared.
88 mins: A half-chance for Algeria, as the ball is played to Feghouli, running left to right into the penalty area. A first-time shot would have tested the goalkeeper, but instead he takes the ball a little wide, and then crosses to nobody.
86 mins: Today’s final substitution will see Kadir replace Brahimi for Algeria. The game has faded in the last five minutes or so – can someone conjure a later winner? He wrote, desperately.
Updated
83 mins: A final roll of Ghanaian dice, Andre Ayew coming off and Solomon Asante coming on.
81 mins: Gyan’s shot isn’t even close to being on target. It’s way high, and way wide.
80 mins: Ghana have a free-kick, 25 yards out. They need a goal here, just to make sure that Algeria and Senegal don’t play out a mutually-convenient draw on Tuesday to make sure they both go through.
78 mins: Another substitution. Jordan Ayew comes off and Mahatma Otoo comes on. The younger Ayew has had a disappointing game.
76 mins: A first chance for Mahrez to do something, and he skips down the left, draws a defender, then jinks onto his left foot and lashes a shot wide.
73 mins: A booking for Bentaleb, who puts a hand on Agyemang-Badu’s shoulder as Ghana try to break, and the midfielder tumbles to the ground.
Updated
72 mins: A chance for Ghana! It’s a cross from the Atsu on the left, and Andre Ayew has found some space in the middle, but he mistimes his jump, the ball hits his head as he’s one the way down, and as the ball flies high and wide he slaps the turf in frustration.
71 mins: Another substitution, Algeria taking off Lacen and bringing on Mahrez, the Leicester winger.
69 mins: Still no goals, then, and only one, very weak, shot on target, but this half has been positively jam-packed with attacking incident compared with the first.
66 mins: Ghana roar straight down the other end and from a very similar position to the one Bentaleb was in a few moments ago, Gyan skews his shot even further across goal and even further wide.
66 mins: Ooooooooh! A great chance for Algeria this time, after their best move of the match by a distance. It ends with Bentaleb being played through on the left side of the area, but his cross-shot goes across goal and wide!
Updated
63 mins: Bah! Gyan is played through down the middle. What a chance this is! But the linesman’s flagging! And the referee calls play back for offside. They’re totally wrong about this. A dismal call.
61 mins: Another Ghana effort. André Ayew gets clear on the left and crosses – with the outside of his left foot – to the near post, where Jordan Ayew tries to flick it goalwards. It flies a yard wide.
61 mins: And another Algeria cross floats into Brimah’s gloves.
60 mins: Brahimi’s cross is overhit and goes straight to the goalkeeper. Algeria have done very little in attack so far, though Slimani’s arrival could help there.
56 mins: Belfodil comes off for Algeria, with Slimani taking his place.
55 mins: Ghana substitution: Wakaso is coming on, and Acquah comes off.
55 mins: We’re about to have some substitutions. Which’ll be fun.
52 mins: Ooooooh! Ghana attack again, Atsu crosses from the right and Gyan, beyond the near post, flicks a header across goal and wide of the far post. Only a half-chance, but we’ve now had two of them already this half, and that cumulatively adds up to ONE WHOLE CHANCE!
Updated
51 mins: Official stats have revealed the first-half shot-on-target total: 0. Still, we’ve had one now.
Updated
A shot! A shot! A shot!
47 mins: A shot! Jordan Ayew gets to the left byline, cuts back inside, roars into the penalty area and then shoots! He actually shoots! Mandi’s attempted block takes much of the sting off it, and M’bolhi casually picks it up. Still, it’s something.
46 mins: And 20 seconds later an attempt to start the half with a bit of gentle passing-around-the-back ends with a bad pass and a Ghana throw-in.
Peeeeeeeeeep!
46 mins: Algeria gets the second half under way.
The players are back out. No pies.
Perhaps the two teams could get together with the referee at half-time and agree to, I don’t know, do something to sort out this disastrously stoppage-filled snoozefest. I’d encourage them to hum this:
You could have been anything that you wanted to be
And its not too late to change
I’d be delighted to give it some thought
Maybe you’ll agree we really ought
And to watch this:
And to come to the second half armed with custard pies.
Half-time: Ghana 0-0 Algeria
45+2 mins: Not a classic. Mildly encouraging for Ghana, not very encouraging for neutrals.
45+1 mins: Bougherra earns himself a booking, for cynically blocking Acquah. He further annoys the referee with some unnecessary physical contact.
45 mins: Gyan has a shot! I think! It was blocked pretty much instantly, but for a moment there it looked like something potentially interesting might happen.
44 mins: Afful finds space on the right, but his cross flies straight into touch. By the looks of the players’ shirts it’s a hot night, and the pitch seems a little uneven, with a high but unreliable bounce. But surely someone can still do something good?
43 mins: Not at this one, though.
Updated
42 mins: Ghana have a corner kick. It’s looking very much like the kind of game that could be decided at set-pieces.
40 mins: Feghouli tricks his way into space on the right wing! But then he falls over.
37 mins: Oooh! A lovely cross from the right by Afful, and attackers are outnumbering defenders at the back post! But Bougherra wins it.
34 mins: I think the longest the ball has been in play so far can’t be more than 45 seconds. There have been loads of free-kicks, quite a lot of throw-ins, a handful of goal-kicks and a couple of corners.
30 mins: Fight! Or at least aggro! Bentaleb seems to have been in the thick of it, giving Agyemang-Badu a shove in the chest after he tried to remonstrate with another Algerian (Belfodil, I think) following a tackle. Suddenlty, lots of players fly in. The referee calms everyone down, and then doesn’t book anybody, charitably.
Updated
29 mins: The referee’s whistle is the man of the match so far. He’s really putting a shift in. Massive performance. Massive. He’s just absolutely everywhere. Ghana get a free-kick this time, and the ball into the penalty area is only just out of everybody’s reach.
26 mins: Now, after a pretty good Ghana move breaks down on the edge of the area, Acquah flies into another challenge, gets both ball and opponent but the referee – waving two fingers in his face – books him for cumulative dirtiness.
Updated
23 mins: Acquah flies in two-footed (from a standing start) on Brahimi, the kind of thing that’s a red card on a fairly regular basis in the Premier League, and a yellow card on every other occasion, but here the referee decides to keep his cards pocketed.
21 mins: Twice Ghana get the ball close to Algeria’s penalty area, but a bad pass and then a bad cross let them down, and they they’ve now gone over an hour without a shot.
19 mins: Ooooooh! Belfodil cuts the ball back from the byline, and Bentaleb skews his shot wide!
17 mins: Belfodil turns again and cuts in from the right, this time legally, but in a promising situation his pass is useless, and intercepted.
15 mins: Ghana work the ball into the Algeria penalty area for the first time, but Jordan Ayew gets caught offside and the move is over.
Updated
14 mins: Which is cleared.
13 mins: Brahimi goes down clutching his head after competing for a header on the left, 45 yards out. On the plus side, he’s got a free-kick.
12 mins: A lovely turn from Belfodil leaves his marker for dead, but just as he sprints clear the referee blows his whistle – turns out one of the key reasons the defender was so leaden-footed was that his shirt was being pulled.
Updated
9 mins: The game is yet to settle down. Very stop-starty so far. Meanwhile, Jonathan Wilson is eating pizza.
Watching Ghana v Algeria in a pizza restaurant above the port in Malabo. Gyan returns and Ghana in a 4-4-2.
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) January 23, 2015
7 mins: Ghana nearly hand Algeria a golden opportunity, with a back-pass that puts Braimah in all sorts of trouble, but he just about boots it into touch in time.
4 mins: Algeria win a free-kick 40 yards out, which Faouzi overhits (assuming it was a cross; it may have been a shot, in which case it missed) straight out of play.
Updated
2 mins: Ghana, head to toe in white, seem to have started with a 4-4-2 formation, dumping the three-at-the-back experiment that flopped in their first game.
Peeeeeeeeep!
1 min: And we’re off!
Here’s Eurosport’s version of the lineups:
Here’s Gary al-Smith on the reason for rumoured Tottenham target Slimani’s absence from Algeria’s first XI.
Islam Slimani's heel injury still an issue. That's why he's not in the XI. I wouldn't worry too much. Adequately covered for.
— Gary Al-Smith (@garyalsmith) January 23, 2015
The players are out in Mongomo, and lining up for their anthems.
Today’s referee, Koman Coulibaly from Mali, took charge of the final in 2010, when Ghana lost to Egypt. That year he also officiated the World Cup game between the US and Slovenia, controversially disallowing a Maurice Edu goal. “I am gutted,” Landon Donovan said post-match. “I don’t know how they stole that third goal from us. All I saw was a good finish and a good goal. I’m not sure what the call was, he didn’t tell us what the call was. It was the guy’s first World Cup game, maybe he got caught up in the moment.” That was his first and, at the time of writing, final World Cup game. According to the New York Times, there was at the time a Facebook petition – started by Algerian fans – demanding that he be dropped as a referee.
This isn’t entirely encouraging:
2001 - Rafik Saïfi is the last scorer of a game between Algeria & Ghana, it was in December 2001. Souvenirs.
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) January 23, 2015
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Teams!
According to Twitter, the first XIs will be:
Algeria: M’Bolhi; Mandi, Bougherra, Medjani, Ghoulam; Lacen, Taïder, Bentaleb; Feghouli, Brahimi; Belfodil.
Ghana: Brimah, Afful, Rahman, Amartey, Mensah, Acquah, Andre Ayew, Badu, Atsu, Gyan, Jordan Ayew.
I’ll update this post when they’re officially confirmed.
The good news for Ghana: they have a 50% shot-to-goal conversion rate. The bad news: they only had two shots in their first match, against Senegal – none at all in the second half – and needed a penalty to score. Their new manager, Avram Grant, is using an unfamiliar 3-4-2-1 formation, to which the players were very obviously unused. They lost 2-1, can scarcely afford another poor result today, and will need Asamoah Gyan to recover from his “mild case” of malaria sharpish. Here’s a bit from Jonathan Wilson’s piece about their prospects:
Grant spoke of how his side had shown “good spirit, fighting spirit” and spoke of Senegal’s “experience” and “power”, which in itself is worrying. It’s true that neither Algeria nor South Africa will pose such a physical test: of Senegal’s starting outfielders, only three were under 6ft and five were over 6ft 3in – but that can hardly have come as a surprise: teams have overcome more robust opposition before – it’s Grant’s job to find a way. Equally, it’s not as though Ghana are exactly inexperienced. His suggestion that Ghana had done well given the “conditions” made no sense whatsoever.
They sounded like the words of a coach who hasn’t yet adapted to the realities of his job which, in a sense, is unsurprising. After all, Grant’s only been in charge for a little over a month. Up to a point, that’s to do with the structure of qualifying, which only finished in November, but it’s also to do with the lack of long-term thinking within the Ghanaian federation. After two disappointing tournaments under Kwesi Appiah, that Ghana were poor in qualifying can’t have been entirely unexpected.
So Ghana face a game they cannot lose against Algeria and Grant is already under pressure. Getting out of this group was always going to be difficult but they need at the very least an improved performance. Going home in the first round is no disgrace; going home having played as they did on Monday would be and would raise serious questions about the long-term viability of Grant’s position.
Algeria, who beat South Africa 3-1 in their opening game, will be very likely to progress should they win again (it would be confirmed if South Africa fail to beat Senegal in today’s other Group C game). With his team impressing, their manager’s problems are entirely of a personal nature – Christian Gourcuff’s mother passed away yesterday, and he is expected to return to France tomorrow for her funeral, before returning for his side’s final group game on Tuesday.
