By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports
Match Review
South Africa, Sunday, June 13, 2010 – With not even a shot on target in open play and a starting midfield without stars Sulley Muntari and Stephen Appiah, Ghana must have counted their lucky stars as they somehow managed to overcome debutants Serbia 1-0 in their Group D opener.
Serbia were equally guilty of poor finishing with only two shots on target during the entire 90 minutes. The two goalkeepers, Ghana’s Richard Kingson and Serbia’s Vladimir Stojkovic, both hailing from England’s Wigan Athletic, were so comfortable during the match that they could have sat down and watched the action without the danger of conceding.
However when it came to making a decisive contribution, Kingson prevailed. He managed to save the only threatening shot on goal by Serbia, while Stojkovic failed to keep out Gyan Asamoah’s match-winning penalty.
The game-decider came as late as the 83rd minute when Serbian substitute Zdravko Kuzmanovic handled a left-wing cross into his box to gift Ghana a chance to score from six yards out. Ghana forward Gyan Asamoah kept his cool to wrongfoot Stojkovic, sending the ball into the left corner of the goal and their visiting fans in the stands into delirium.
Four minutes earlier, Serbia came close to scoring the opener when substitute Danko Lazovic pulled back from the left flank for midfielder Milos Krasic to fire a shot just inside the box. However the latter’s effort was denied by a brilliant Kingson reflex save.
To rub salt into Serbia’s wound, centre back Aleksandar Lukovic was sent off for a second bookable offence on 74 minutes after a tug on Gyan Asamoah’s shirt.
It signalled an exciting final 16 minutes of the match, whereas the first 74 were largely a snooze-fest with shots either going wide or over.
The biggest disappointment must have been new Birmingham City forward Nikola Zigic who lumbered upfront despite his huge 2.02m frame. He failed to convert his chances despite being set up perfectly by his teammates and endured a disappointing 68 minutes before he was hauled off by Serbia coach Radomir Antic.
Next, our pundit Andrew Chua provides us his post-match opinions. He predicted a 1-0 scoreline in favour of Serbia.
Andrew Chua of RI. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Andrew Says:
A totally unexpected result. An Essien-less Ghana proved they are not a one-man team and pulled off the first real upset of the World Cup. Neither side were able to find the net after nearly 83 minutes, with both sides missing chance after chance. Gyan Asamoah’s free kick flew just wide after three minutes but it was followed by countless opportunities that culminated in nothing but disappointing near-misses for both teams.
And then, Serbia simply self-destructed. Aleksander Lukovic got himself sent off, while Zdravko Kuzamanovic gifted Ghana a penalty with a completely needless hand-ball. Gyan competently converted the resulting spot-kick.
With Serbia’s disappointing inability to make their chances count and Ghana’s amazing spirit and ferocity in attack, the result was a thoroughly deserved one, though it went against the form book.
Man of the match: Gyan Asamoah
Though not particularly well-known, Gyan Asamoah, who plies his trade in French mid-table side Rennes, was in fine form. He scored the deciding goal and came tantalisingly close on numerous other occasions. A brilliant performance by the Ghana striker.
As a Germany supporter, I secretly hope he doesn’t replicate this great form against them!
More Reports and Reactions
Gyan Asamoah dedicates goal to all Africa
Serbia coach Radomir Antic seeks positive response
Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac: We got lucky
Ghana give hope to African World Cup dream
Video highlights of the match
| GROUP D | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GERMANY  | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
GHANA  | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
AUSTRALIA  | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 4 |
SERBIA  | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/
Leave A Comment