MANGOMO, Equatorial Guinea, January 24 – Just days after being taken to hospital with malaria, Asamoah Gyan lit up the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday with a late winning goal as Ghana beat Algeria 1-0.
Ghana’s win and the 1-1 draw between Senegal and South Africa later in the day in Mongomo leave the two qualifying spots in Group C still up for grabs ahead of the final round of matches next Tuesday, although Bafana Bafana appear very much up against it.
Gyan is Ghana’s captain and talisman and he was missed in Monday’s last-gasp loss to the Senegalese, with coach Avram Grant judging the striker unfit to play having been hospitalised last weekend after contracting a mild bout of malaria.
The 29-year-old came straight back into the line-up on Friday and Grant decided to keep him on the pitch despite him visibly tiring towards the end.
A scrappy match of few chances on a poor surface was set to end goalless until, in the second minute of injury time, Gyan latched onto a hopeful long ball downfield and outpaced Carl Medjani before firing across goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi and into the net from a tight angle.
It was his seventh Cup of Nations goal, allowing him to equal the record mark set by Osei Kofi, a veteran of the Black Stars side that won the continental title in 1965.
The goal also means Gyan has now scored at eight consecutive major tournaments, stretching back to the 2006 World Cup, and Grant was full of praise for his superstar forward afterwards.
“Asamoah has a fantastic attitude. He wasn’t fit and he hadn’t been training. He is one of the greatest players I have worked with,” said the Israeli after his first competitive win in charge of Ghana.
Ghana now know that they will qualify for the quarter-finals as long as they can beat South Africa on Tuesday, while Algeria also know that a win against Senegal in Malabo will definitely take them through.
“It is cruel to lose the match in the last minute, but that will not change our fundamental approach to the last game: even with a draw we would still have needed to win,” said Algeria’s French coach Christian Gourcuff, before blaming the conditions for his side’s display.
“We never managed to get into any rhythm because of the state of the pitch and the weather conditions. In Malabo against Senegal, I think the surface will allow us to play a much more fluid game.”
– Senegal in pole position –
Senegal are in pole position and are just a point away from the quarter-finals after coming from behind to draw with Bafana Bafana.
For the second game running South Africa took the lead but failed to see out a result, with Oupa Manyisa opening the scoring just after half-time.
Senegal had a Sadio Mane equaliser disallowed for offside but they were level on the hour mark when Kara Mbodji met a free-kick from the right flank with a towering header into the net.
“We take a lot of confidence from the way we have played in these two matches, even if we have not got the results we hoped for,” said Dean Furman, the captain of a South Africa side who must now beat Ghana in their last match to stand any chance of progressing to the last eight.
“We just have to hope that a win in our last game will be enough for us to go through.”
Senegal’s French coach Alain Giresse said: “Nothing is settled. The final day will be fatal. That shows how difficult a group this is.”
The action in Equatorial Guinea continues on Saturday with a double-header of games in Group D, as the Ivory Coast, without the suspended Gervinho, take on Mali and Cameroon meet Guinea in Malabo.
Elephants coach Herve Renard will be looking to Yaya Toure to produce a captain’s performance after laying down the gauntlet to the Manchester City star on Friday.
“I expect a better second game from him than the first one. If he is not able to improve his level it will be difficult for the team,” said Renard.
KamauGatwechi
January 28, 2012 at 8:42 am
I am persuaded that he is indeed an opportunist especially so because Muturah speaks on his behalf, He can prove the contrary buy sacking him and replacing him with Johnstone Muthama who is more useful especially as we move forward into the real competitive politics; The mother of all battles
kirui
January 28, 2012 at 8:56 am
I WANT TO ASSURE HONOURABLE UHURU AND RUTO THAT IF THEY COMBINE WITH KALONZO, I BETTER GIVE RAILA MY VOTE.
Anantpanchmatia
January 28, 2012 at 12:40 pm
Same here.
Kamau
January 28, 2012 at 9:36 am
uhuru n ruto belong to the hague. they burnt us in churches, homes n displaced us from our homes to this day. are these the kind of leaders we deserve. by the way, ICC’s thoroughness far beats the kenyan judiciary. these people should not even contemplate being councillors with such crimes hanging on their necks
tk
January 28, 2012 at 3:07 pm
your were burnt in a church n displace and you can afford to talk nonsence
MPAMBE
January 28, 2012 at 11:11 am
KALONZO, IF YOU ARE NOT AN OPPORTUNIST EXPLAIN HOW YOU BECAME A VICE PRESIDENT (LONG BEFORE THE COALITION WAS FORMED) .YET YOU WERE IN THE OPPOSITION AND OPENLY CRITICISED KIBAKI.
ANANTPANCHMATIA
January 29, 2012 at 10:32 am
This man is TOTALLY OUT OF ORDER.
Pratt
January 30, 2012 at 6:27 am
Merchants of deceit are the ones who refused to play ball with Kalonzo. Remember when ODM was trying to hold a rally at Uhuru park, just before the chaos, Mudavadi, Kosgey and Orengo met Kalonzo outside the park? A jounrnalist then asked Kalonzo what he was doing about the ensuing confusion. Kalonzo replied that he was talking to president Kibaki and Hon. Raila. However, when the same journalist found Raila at Serena hotel, he literately insulted Kalonzo. He said that Kalonzo was a paper tiger and didnt play in his league. The empty balloon didnt need him as such! My friend thats how Raila lost once and for all! After that, Kalonzo realized the merchants of deceit believed they were too big to do business with him. A few days later, he was named the country’s VP. Raila was to loudly complain that “if Kibaki had appointed a VP what was we going to negotiate about!” That was followed my another statement and I quote ” how can Kibaki appoint someone with less than a million votes and 14 Mps the VP!” Needless to say, votes and number of Mps were never the issue. Why was Raila crying if Kalonzo was nothing? Why was he feeling the pain? Do you notice a hidden opportunist here? And remember from then on, all frontal assault was unleashed on Kalonzo, why and he didnt play in their league? Kenyans are largely being overwhelmed by useless illogical propaganda! Why was Raila complaining if he was not eyeing the same? And is NOT TRUE THAT KALONZO SUPPOSEDLY ONLY BECAME “SOMEONE WITHOUT A STAND” JUST AFTER HE FELL OFF WITH RAILA? AND IS IT ALSO NOT TRUE THAT HE WAS ONLY CALLED “OPPORTUNIST” JUST AFTER HE BECAME THE VP, A JOB RAILA BADLY NEEDED AND BELIEVED WAS HIS? Deceit is not going to take us anywhere. You have to read between the lines to understand who is using malicious lies to derail others. Obviously, you cant support your political enemy, can you?
Samuel
January 30, 2012 at 10:27 am
You can write a nice history book and make good money from it. Your memory is fantastic but i think we don’t need such kind of reasoning anymore in this country. Such reasoning can ignite further violence. Just let bygones be bygones as we really need one another for this country to prsper and achieve Vision 2030. It seems you support KM and hate Raila with a passion but this will take us nowhere as a country and never add a sufuria of ugali in our houses. Politics is a dirty game but what we know for sure that every politician has his/her people and you will desperately need their votes, even just a few of them, for your man, KM, to win. So seduce them and don’t antagonize with information which is dead and buried now.. Best of luck
Pratt
January 30, 2012 at 12:29 pm
You are amusing me pal! May be you hardly realize whats going on around you! Of course, your writeup could be better if you were facing honest decent people. But before you know what you are up against, you can easily play a priest. You are not supposed to keep the truth under the carpet in order to please mercenaries. That will never help, actually is no more than a mere pretence. Havent you realized that most of people masqueranting as civil society and political analysts are singing the same song? And in most cases, they are from one corner of the country! Why so? Obvioulsy, its for Odinga to kill 2 birds with one stone. You get Hon. Uhuru and Hon. Ruto out of the way, assassinate characters of their friends and Raila walks straight to state house without a sweat at all! Its so simple. Rigging election is seemingly underway pal. Lies visited on Kenyans are too overwhelming pal. You cant be elected president if people have been deceived over and over that you dont fit the bill. If people are made to believe you have “no stand,” it wont matter whether thats the truth or not. If people are falsely and repeatedly told that you are a pretender not a christian, it wont matter as long as they believe that. You there have to decide whether you are going to allow people to be misled because of selfish reasons, or you stand up and be counted. It doesnt matter who your preferred candidate is, and less so the tribe. Its a question of Kenyans being allowed to choose their leaders freely without conmen pointing out fingers for the them. I believe thats too fundamental to be ignored. Am however at loss how thats going to “ignite” violence. Finally, I dont hate no one at all but the lies!
SIMBA
January 28, 2012 at 11:14 am
YAKO NI MACHOZI YA MAMBA WAKENYA WAMESHA KUJUA PRESO VICE…. SI TENA UMESEMA WAKATI HUU UTARUKA JUU? UKITUAMBIA ETI UKO TAYARI KUMUACHIA RUTO AU UHURU, WAMAANISHA NINI? UNAWACHIA KWANI NI CHAKO KITI? KITI NI CHA WAKENYA MAZE …. NA HAO NDIO WATAKO AMUA.. MIMI YANGU KURA HAUTAIONA
Aamsolomon
January 28, 2012 at 11:48 am
”Claims that Uhuru and Ruto have no right to vie for elective positions
following the confirmation of their charges at the ICC is dictatorship
and reminds us of the old dark days,” said Musyoka. Question is THE DARK DAYS OF KENYA DURING MOI ERRA WERE THE MOST BRILLIANT FOR KALONZO let him not pretend he suffered at any time.Infact he purely seems to miss the Moi erra
tk
January 28, 2012 at 3:04 pm
shame on you
Pratt
January 30, 2012 at 6:54 am
Stop living in the past and face the future pal! We know who are trying to block our best leaders from vying for the top seat. Its not Musyoka but Raila and his assorted merchants of deceit. Noticed that they try to cast doubts on every Musyoka’s move, why? Have you ever tried to find out why they are so dismissive of Kalonzo while unwilling to stop assaulting him? They are actually trying to select leaders for us! It wont happen pal! Kenyans will elect their president and I really doubt whether they will elect someone driven by malice and rapant lies. Whether they use mercenaries like Ngilu, Mutula Kilonzo and tribal poilitical analysts like Ngunyi wont matter. Kenyans know who are the thieves and who are not. They know who would sell the country for 3 pieces of silver and traitors who think refugees are not threat to our security! Feeding Kenyans with cancerous maize, firing KBS MD and attempting to suspend ministers to hide your evil designs is no a joke boy. Kenyans know all this and they are alot wiser now!
Samuel
January 30, 2012 at 10:16 am
Well said brother and i fully support your thoughtfulness. However, you are very wrong in your analysis, reasoning et al. I hope these didn’t come from the bottom of your hurt coz its shows that we have a long way to go as a country and Kibunja’s job might be well cut out for him. It also shows that some of us still finds it impossible to look at issues and facts critically and draw logical conclusions while tribal hatred, rumourmongering and phobia towards some perceived enemy is all that matters. My bro love your perceived enemy as you love yourself, preach pease and unity all the time. For your information, we should not even care who becomes the President and it is only God who knows who will win and who will not. May be you have benefited from your favourite politicians but if you are a businessman like me you will know that the people who make you succesful and put food on your table are only your customers/employers/neighbours. And they come from all tribes, shades and shapes. So love them all.
Pratt
January 30, 2012 at 1:54 pm
I admire your good intentions and brotherly heart. However you certainly got the wrong signal. Perhaps, you need to re-read my post! Everything written actually happened and has been happening. When you we rightly put it on the screen, there cant be any hate. Unless of course you mean truth is hata!
Rufano
January 30, 2012 at 2:42 pm
Pratt, you are a paranoid imbecile. Support your claims with FACTS, not your deepest fears, imaginations & hallucinations. We get it, you don’t like Raila and you love Kalonzo. That’s your right anyway. But don’t call people mercenaries, and don’t claim there is an evil plan hatched by Raila to stop Uhuru & Ruto from being president. How? Bribing the ICC? Uhuru is 10 times richer than Raila, that just doesn’t make any sense!
Anonymous
January 28, 2012 at 1:32 pm
Kalonzo is an Hynea waiting for the meat to fall on his direction
baraza
January 28, 2012 at 2:48 pm
Wikileaks told us you went went gossiping about Raila and Kibaki.This is what the ranneberger said about you
Kalonzo Musyoka Deflated by Wikileaks;
The ambassador has a generally low opinion of the V-P and his language in describing him is some of the strongest in the cables.
He, for example, describes Mr Musyoka as ‘‘an opportunist’’ and ‘‘intellectual lightweight’’, who had conceded that he stood no chance of winning the presidency.
Engaging in juvenile antics won’t make Raila the 4th President of the Republic of Kenya; neither will it make VP Kalonzo Musyoka who has been flip-flopping, foolishly, gatecrashing Kenyatta’s rallies while at the same time urging Mutula to keep the pressure on Kenyatta to quit all official positions. Kalonzo is an evil character. And how come the majority of those attacking Kenyatta, viciously, are from Luo Nyanza?
Baraza
January 29, 2012 at 9:51 am
And those who pushed Nancy Baraza to suspension were from Central. I wonder why this Kikuyu “voter” who went to court to seeking for Baraza to resign did not rush to court for Uhuru to resign.
Pratt
January 30, 2012 at 7:12 am
Reinberger was a wife snatcher, atheist and obviously, didnt believe in Christian faith. Secondly, he was fiercely aligned to merchants of deceit. Infact, he had a decisive hand in the problems now facing our dear Uhuru and dear Ruto. Raila was feeding him with the illogical. The fake who claimed Obama was his cousin, used all that nonsense to tear in to his opponents. I dont believe Kalonzo can be an evil man at all. Having spent close to 30 years in public life without corruption and open stealing like some of us?!
paulm
January 30, 2012 at 11:20 am
Pratt are you okay? I mean up there in the head? you talk/write crazy.
Pratt
January 30, 2012 at 2:04 pm
Why sir? Cant you expound further or may be am hitting too hard? By the way, I say the way it is and not the way you want. If that offends you, the least I can say is sorry pal. However, you dont need to insult and demean to put your point across. Remember abuses hardly help, if at all, and belong to their owners!
Guest
January 28, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Hahahahahaaaaaa hahahahahaaa haha…Oh my I think I’m chocking!!!
dbaiya
January 28, 2012 at 5:00 pm
W H A T E L S E C A N Y O U B E ? ? ?
Simon Dondi
January 29, 2012 at 1:44 am
Uhuru and Ruto had better watch out for the enemy from within..who is just waiting to pounce once they drop the meat. Why is Kalonzo attending their rallies uninvited just to shed crocodile tears and laughing in his heart? The heart is never neutral. This wiper thing is seeking to wipe them out of race and pass katikati yao!
Burning Man Bates
January 29, 2012 at 6:39 am
It is madness to argue PEV did not occur. SANITY is to argue SELF-DEFENSE!
Justevansi
January 29, 2012 at 2:13 pm
In short Kalonzo has confirmed that he has no agenda for wanting to be President except to be with his friends. What a shame!
Pratt
January 30, 2012 at 8:02 am
It would be better for him not to have a stand, whatever that means, and stand with our beloved brothers at this hour of need. Those who supposedly have stands can as well keep on calling on Uhuru and Ruto not to go for the top job, we will see who will have the last laugh. You are attempting to destroy our best leaders, Uhuru and Ruto and still attempt to do same to their genuine friends? There wont be any freed ride to state house! Dictatorship coated with lies of reform, wanton corruption and empty feel of self importance wont wash. Kenyans know their true leaders. Noticed even doubts about Mudavadi’s candidacy and intentions have started surfacing? Dictators dont like competition pal!
Mutiej
February 14, 2012 at 4:24 am
Mkenya – Our VP should learn through mistakes he makes. How to you follow people who need you most than you need them? That is the greatest mistake our VP has made. He should go alone for them to look for him or join ODM because the fear of those who made the economy of this country to suffer fear the prime. And am very sure if he can make this hard decision of going back to ODM they will be shocked beyond words. Sometimes it is hard to make such hard decision but it pays.
Kijana Mzee
January 29, 2012 at 2:31 pm
Kalonzo is a spineless politician who is like a flag which goes wherever the wind blows! We remember Kalonzo right from the days of Moi where his Msimamo / stand was whatever Moi said! Yes, this guy is nothing more than a very experienced fence sitter – No wonder we have never known his Msimamo / stand all these years because he simply doesn’t have any!
Anantpanchmatia
January 29, 2012 at 7:37 pm
Any Party or person who does not have the guts to say to Uhuru and Ruto that they will never be allowed
to participate in the Presidential election in my opinion is IMPOTANT.Further more the President must fire
Uhuru from the post of DPM,to avoid further chaos.Do not underestimate the power of people,Perhaps you
know of our neighbour ” EGYPT “
Frank
January 30, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Bwana Kalonzo we know you are using your henchman mutula Kilonzo to eliminate competition for you to become president are you not ashamed of this strategy which can be used by every single Kenyan and if he is not gunning for you can you fire him from that portfolio if you want us to believe that you are innocent. You can only be elected by Kenyans if they feel you are capable of doing the job but not through manipulation. The hyena followed the man all the way hoping the hand he was swinging would fall and he could get his meal alas he died of hunger.
Pratt
January 30, 2012 at 2:13 pm
Mercenary Mutula is going to be fired. Remember during the shuttle diplomacy he was against the government? This time round, he has gone too far. Just watch. He has been promised a big job by merchants of deceit and he thinks he can call himself a “reformer!”