By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports
South Africa, Friday, July 2, 2010 — “How the Stars shine for you!” This was the original headline for this match story but it had to be rewritten after a dramatic ending to the match that denied the Black Stars of Ghana a place in the semi-finals.
The match was locked at 1-1 on the final minute of extra time when Uruguay striker Luis Suarez blatantly handled Dominic Adiyiah’s header on the line just like a volleyball player. Suarez was rightly sent off but Ghana did not get the deserved result in the end as striker Gyan Asamoah, who was spot-on in his previous two attempts, slammed the resulting penalty against the bar.
In the dreaded penalty shootout, Ghana captain John Mensah and Dominic Adiyiah missed while Maximiliano Pereira missed for Uruguay. It all came down to Uruguayan substitute Sebastian Abreu who coolly chipped Ghana keeper Richard Kingson to send the South Americans into the semi-finals.
Uruguay dominated the early stages, earning six corners in the process, but Ghana finished the first half very strongly. Centre back Isaac Vorsah headed wide of the post on 31 minutes while Gyan Asamoah dragged his shot wide three minutes later.
Two minutes into injury time in the first half, Inter Milan midfielder Sulley Ali Muntari struck as he was allowed space to turn and release an accurate long range effort into the bottom right corner.
Diego Forlan’s thumping 20-metre free kick levelled matters for Uruguay on 55 minutes.
Game-changer Luis Suarez, who tested Kingson on several opportunities, wasted the best opportunity in regulation time as he shot wide inside the box from a Forlan left-wing cross.
With the scores on 1-1, it had to go down to extra time to decide the match. Both teams did not carve out any real openings in the 30 minutes with Ghana’s Kevin-Prince Boateng heading just over on 118 minutes.
That all set the script for the dramatic ending to the match. African hearts are broken as the sole representative from the continent is knocked out while Uruguay helped to avenge fellow South Americans Brazil’s 1-2 defeat to Holland earlier in the day.
Uruguay will now take on Holland in a bid to reach the final and emulate their 1930 and 1950 feats where they finished winners.
Penalties
Uruguay
Diego Forlan (scored)
Mauricio Victorino (scored)
Andrés Scotti (scored)
Maximiliano Pereira (missed)
Sebastian Abreu (scored)
Ghana
Gyan Asamoah (scored)
Stephen Appiah (scored)
John Mensah (missed)
Dominic Adiyiah (missed)
More News and Reactions
Soccernet.com: Africa denied by unbelievable drama
Guardian.co.uk: Uruguay make Gyan and Ghana pay the penalty
BBC Sport: Luis Suarez – Hero or villain?
Match Pictures
Match highlights
2010 FIFA World Cup Quarter-Final Fixtures
| SGP DATE/DAY | SGP TIME | COUNTRY A | COUNTRY B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2, Fri | 10pm | Holland  | 2 | Brazil  | 1 |
| Jul 3, Sat | 2.30am | Uruguay  | 1 (4) | Ghana  | 1 (2) |
| Jul 3, Sat | 10pm | Argentina  | 0 | Germany  | 4 |
| Jul 4, Sun | 2.30am | Paraguay  | 0 | Spain  | 1 |
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/
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