The Black Stars were held to a 1-1 draw by the Cranes of Uganda in the African Cup of Nations qualifier in Kumasi after a second half penalty from Andre Ayew cancelled out Uganda’s first-half lead.
Kwesi Appiah named a strong starting 11 for the game, with Leicester City left wing-back Jeffrey Schlupp handed a home début and Captain Asamoah Gyan leading the attack despite reports that he had earlier left the team’s camp.
Kwadwo Asamoah was restored to a place in midfield after playing at left back at the World Cup and was partnered by Rabiu Mohammed.
[contextly_sidebar id=”cfAyNBsZcMfm9iFgyxywnJ7aLsXwljcR”]Everton’s Christian Atsu started on the right wing with Andre Ayew on the opposite flank.
A fine start by the Black Stars produced a couple of saves from Ugandan goalkeeper, Dennis Onyango, first from Waris’ close-range header and an Asamoah Gyan free-kick.
The goalkeeper was in great form, saving brilliantly from Gyan after the striker controlled a cross on his chest in the box.
Andre Ayew then beat a couple of challenges before firing a shot straight into the arms of the goalkeeper
The Ugandans had, for most of the first-half, been limited to speculative shots from outside the box but took the lead in stoppage time.
The Ghanaian defence was slow to react to a Ugandan attack on the edge of their box, with Tonny Mawejje drilling in the opener right before the break.
The Black Stars started the second-half strongly and were rewarded when striker Waris controlled the ball in the Ugandan box and went down after an innocuous but clumsy challenge.
The referee pointed to the spot and Andre Ayew stepped up to smash the ball home.
Clear goalscoring chances in the second half were few and far between with Black Stars substitutes Jordan Ayew, Mubarak Wakaso and Eric Afriyie Aqcuah failing to make a telling impact after coming on.
The result in Kumasi means Guinea top the group after they beat Togo 2-1 on Saturday. Ghana next travel to face Togo on Wednesday, while Uganda will host Guinea.
By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana