Ghana reach World Cup Final
Ghana reach World Cup Final
Posted: 2009-10-13 20:21
Ghana remain on course to become the first African country to win the Fifa Under-20 World Cup after they defeated Hungary 3-2 at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday.
Hungary began brightly. Daniel Addo appeared to have clumsily brought down Krisztian Nemeth inside the box as early as the third minute, but the referee waved play to continue.
But Ghana, who were beaten in the 1993 and 2001 finals of the biannual youth tournament, took the lead in the tenth minute through Dominic Adiyiah, the tournament's leading scorer.
Skipper Andre Ayew chased what seemed to be a lost cause when he went after a faulty Adam Presinger back pass. He got to the ball ahead of goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, before Adiyiah slotted home.
In the 23rd minute, Ransford Osei then had his shot from inside the box saved by Gulacsi. He also had another sweet left-footed strike from outside the box blocked by the Hungarian goalkeeper.
Norway-based striker Adiyiah got his second on 31 minutes, when he nodded home a perfect cross from the right, which was delivered by full-back Samuel Inkoom.
Ghana continued to create the chances even after their two goals. On 41 minutes, Adiyiah came close to completing his hat-trick with a spectacular half-volley, which missed narrowly.
Hungary were without three key players, including skipper Vladimir Koman and Peter Takacs, who were suspended, and that may well explain why they struggled to keep pace with the African champions.
In the second half, Roland Varga came on to add some pep to the Hungary attack as they went in search of a goal.
Hungary pulled a goal back in the 72nd minute. Adam Simon worked his way into the Ghanaian area, creating enough space for substitute Marko Futacs to slot past goalkeeper Daniel Agyei.
The Europeans nearly levelled the scores but Janos Szabo's near-post header missed the target. However, Ghana's Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu's shot from 40 yards crashed against the woodwork with the Hungarian goalkeeper well beaten.
Quansah Abeiku appeared to have made the game safe for Ghana in the 81st minute, when he fired home a right-footed rocket from inside the Hungary box. But Adam Balajti capitalised on sloppy defending by David Addy three minutes later to bring the score to 3-2.
The late Hungarian fight back made this an entertaining encounter until the very last kick of the ball, but it is the Africans who won through.
: 2009-10-14 02:05
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