FIFA World Cup Qualifier: Ghana cruise pass Zimbabwe 3-1 in Cape Coast
Serbian trainer, Milovan Rajevac, began his second stint as Black Stars Head Coach with an emphatic 3-1 win over Zimbabwe at the Cape Coast Stadium on Saturday.
After a series of chances, Ghana was immediately rewarded for a strong start when Ajax Amsterdam star, Kudus Mohammed finished neatly with his right foot after some good build-up play involving himself, Jordan Ayew and Kamaldeen Sulemana.
Milovan Rajevac’s side continued to press on for the second time and was very unlucky to double their lead when Kudus’s close-range shot was saved brilliantly by Zimbabwean goalkeeper Talbert Shumba.
Ghana went close again to scoring a second, but Kudus Mohammed who was proving to be a handful for the Zimbabwe defense sent his close-range shot over the bar on the 37th minute.
Ghana thought they had doubled their lead when 4 minutes to the break when Kamaldeen Sulemana found the net from close range, but that was ruled out for an offside, and Ghana, had to settle for just a 1-0 lead at half-time.
Zimbabwe started the second half very determined and it paid off when Knowledge Musona scored from the spot after being brought down by Alexander Djiku in the box.
The Warriors almost took the lead when Kudukwashe Mahachi’s curling effort struck the left hand post.
Ghana struggled to deal with the counter attacking threat from Zimbabwe, and needed a stunning save from debutant Jojo Wollacott to stop Zimbabwe from taking the lead.
The superior quality of the Stars came to play, when Thomas Partey beat two defenders to shoot low and hard into the bottom corner to give Ghana the lead and that goal seemed to change the game and the Black Stars begun to grow in confidence.
Captain Andre Dede Ayew, made sure the points were sealed when he headed in from close range to make it 3-1 to Ghana after Baba Rahman’s cross was perfectly weighted beyond a taller Benjamin Tetteh but found Andre’s head. He celebrated in usual faction – bringing in the fans and making sure that they all got in on the act.
The win sends Milovan Rajevac’s side second behind South Africa in Group G ahead of the return leg against Zimbabwe in Harare on Tuesday.
