6/9/2024
The Black Stars of Ghana have failed to secure all three points in their 2025 AFCON qualifying opener against the Palancreas Negras of Angola.
The Angolan side defeated their Ghanaian counterparts by a lone goal (1-0), breaking the twenty-four (24) year undefeated qualifier opening game record of the Stars in their quest for an AFCON trophy.
The defeat came when Angola’s Milson came off the bench to score the only goal for the Palancreas Negras, handing his side all three points and leaving Ghanaians heartbroken at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Thursday, September 5.
Otto Addo’s side failed to find antidotes to the attacking tactics of the defence of the Palancras Negras in both the first and second halves of the game.
The closest they came to creating a fruitful chance was when Mohammed Kudus drove the only shot on target in the 33rd minute, putting the Angolan keeper into motion for his first save in the game.
Both teams went into the dressing room with no goals in the first half.
The Black Stars came back into the second half with Kudus and Semenyo making efforts to break the deadlock but was far from troubling the Angolan shot stopper as he parried away their efforts.
Just when the Ghanaian fans thought of settling for a goalless draw as the scoreline in the 95th minute came Milson’s winning goal for the Angolan side.
The winger capitalised on a failed clearance in the Black Stars box, leveraging the defence deficit to break the deadlock.
The Black Stars were never defeated in an AFCON qualifying opener since the year 2000, a 24-year record which is now brought to an end by the Palancras Negras of Angola.
As Niger’s encounter on Monday beckons, the Black Stars will now focus attention on their shortfalls, right the wrongs and find answers to extrapolated attacking tactics of the Nigerian to prevent a recurrence of Angola’s fixture.
By: Maxwell Woyram Tsigbe