General News of Friday, 23 January 2015
Source: GhanaWeb
45 + 2 mins There is the half-time whistle!
45 + 1 mins Yellow Card —- Madjid Bougherra
45 mins Great block! Atsu has come to life in the last few minutes, and he squares the ball to Gyan inside the box. The striker loses his feets as he releases a shot, and Bougherra is positioned perfectly to intercept!
43 mins Great covering from Medjani! The centre-back has to get across as Atsu beats Ghoulam for the first time this afternoon and looked to sprint into the area. He times it to perfection, but can’t stop the ball going out for a throw in.
41 m ins We are edging closer towards the interval and it remains all square for the moment. Ghana will be happy to have kept their opponents off the scoresheet, but they’ve offered very little themselves so far.
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39 mins Belfodil controls a long ball at the top of the box exquisitely before spinning towards the centre. He spots Brahimi streaming up from deep and attempts to roll a pass in behind the defence for him. It’s far too weak, though, and Amartey removes the threat.
38 mins Afful sprints forward on the right and whips a great cross towards Gyan in the centre of the box. Bougherra beats him to it, though, and gets enough contact on the ball to send it clear of his area.
36 mins There’s no real variation to Ghana’s play at the moment and the opposing defence are dealing with them comfortably. To be fair, Algeria have hardly shone so far either, with the only real opening being the one forged for Bentaleb in the 20th minute!
34 mins The tempo of the game has been sapped as a result of the series of free kicks we’ve seen over the past 10 minutes or so. Acquah fizzes a pass into Gyan but it is far too powerful for the striker to control.
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32 mins It’s been a really scrappy game so far, with numerous poor challenges going in. Rahman catches Taider with his knee in a wide right position and the Sassuolo midfielder whips in the resultant free kick. He fails to find a team-mate, though, and another set-piece opportunity is wasted.
30 mins Tempers are flaring here! Bentaleb and Belfodil react badly to a challenge from Badu on the near side, with the Ghanaian taking a shove from the Tottenham man for grabbing the striker’s shirt while he was down on the ground. The referee allows things to cool down and then encourages the players to shake hands and continue.
29 mins Ghana don’t seem to be able to get the ball to Gyan’s feet. The majority of the service that he has received has been in the air, and he’s found it difficult to feed off that so far. The Black Stars are awarded a free kick inside the centre-circle and it is clipped long for Mensah, but it evades him to go out for a goal kick.
29 mins Ghana don’t seem to be able to get the ball to Gyan’s feet. The majority of the service that he has received has been in the air, and he’s found it difficult to feed off that so far. The Black Stars are awarded a free kick inside the centre-circle and it is clipped long for Mensah, but it evades him to go out for a goal kick.
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27 mins long ball up from the back is headed behind for a corner by Ghoulam, and Atsu comes across to clear it. His delivery heads for a swarm of bodies on the edge of the six-yard box, but the Desert Warriors manage to get it clear.
26 mins Yellow Card Afriyie Acquah
25 mins Jordan Ayew attempts a one-two with Atsu on the far side but the return pass is intercepted and Algeria look to come away with the ball. Acquah does his best to stop that with a lunging challenge on Taider, but it only serves to earn him a yellow card.
23 mins Gyan gets a touch on a long pass up from the back and Jordan Ayew attempts to latch onto it. Medjani gets across and blocks him off, drawing a shove from the Marseille man which results in a free kick to Algeria.
22 mins Acquah puts in a horrendous challenge on Brahimi on the halfway line, jumping in with both feet and failing to win the ball. The Porto forward comes out of it unscathed, but the referee does not get a card out of his pocket.
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20 mins WHAT A CHANCE! Mandi is played down to the byline by Feghouli and he cuts a pass back for Bentaleb inside the box. He fails to connect with his shot adequately, leaving it for his left foot and failing to hit the target. He’s moved into a more advanced, central position, with Brahimi coming out to the left now.
19 mins Ghana have had a few forays forward into the Algeria half, but at the moment it remains the Fennec Foxes’ game!
17 mins That’s a nasty challenge on Andre Ayew! Taider probably didn’t mean it, but he stamps down just above the wide-man’s ankle on the far side. The referee clearly didn’t think there was anything in it as no free kick is awarded, nor a card shown.
16 mins Belfodil is going to have a difficult game if the referee continues to award free kicks against him when he uses his body to shield the ball from the opposition. He could have created an opening inside the box there had he not be adjudged to back in to Mensah.
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15 mins fful sends a long throw in to the Algeria box but Gyan is unable to control it. His touch does fall for Jordan Ayew, but the forward was in an offside position.
14 mins Brahimi’s delivery is extremely poor, failing to beat the first defender who heads it away.
13 mins Afriyie Acquah, restored to the Ghana side today, is perhaps a little over-eager in an aerial challenge and gives away a free kick on the left. Yacine Brahimi stands over it but his delivery is not the best. Ghana hack the ball away frantically – they’re lacking a bit of composure early on here.
10 mins Algeria are marginally on top in the opening stages here. They’re winning most of the 50/50 balls in midfield, with Spurs midfielder Nabil Bentaleb snapping into challenges with particular relish.
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6 min Goodness me, Ghana keeper Razak Braimah almost makes an awful error here. The ball comes back to him and under no pressure he takes a horribly heavy touch that almost allows Yacine Brahimi to nip in and score. Heart-in-mouth moment for the Ghana stopper.
Ghana 0-0 Algeria
4 mins Algeria have a free-kick 25 yards for a fairly innocuous-looking aerial challenge. It’s drilled well wide by left-back Faouzi Ghoulam.
Ghana 0-0 Algeria
2 mins Algeria’s Ishak Belfodil spreads the ball wide to bring right-back Aissa Mandi into play. Mandi played pretty well in the first game, despite conceding a penalty, but his attempted through-ball is poor on this occasion.
“The stadium is still not full. Those checks outside – Ebola and security – do slow things down. Haven’t heard any suggestion of trouble here though…”
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KICK-OFF
Ghana 0-0 Algeria
Posted at
Ghana goalkeeper Razak Braimah says a little prayer, and we’re under way. Algeria in green, Ghana in white
LINE-UPS
Ghana v Algeria
Ghana: Razak, Amartey, Mensah, Afful, Baba, Afriyie, Atsu, Agyemang-Badu, Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew, Gyan. Subs: Sowah, Appiah, Gyimah, Awal, Wakaso, Rabiu, Asante, Otoo, Accam, Boye, Acheampong, Dauda.
Algeria: M’Bolhi, Mandi, Bougherra, Medjani, Ghoulam, Taider, Lacen, Bentaleb, Feghouli, Belfodil, Brahimi. Subs: Doukha, Cadamuro, Halliche, Mesbah, Mahrez, Slimani, Soudani, Kadir, Djabou, Kashi, Zeffane, Zemmamouche.
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Referee: Koman Coulibaly (Mali)