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The Black Stars have moved to the top of Group G following the narrow win over the Warriors on Tuesday

Ghana defeated Zimbabwe to 1-0 complete a double over the Warriors in the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers at the National Sports on Tuesday.

The win means that Ghana have moved top of the Group G log with nine points, two points ahead of South Africa who will play Ethiopia later in the day.

The Black Stars began the game with two changes to their squad that won the first leg in Cape Coast Sports Stadium last weekend. Captain Andre Ayew and youngster Abdul Fatawu Issahaku were benched for Benjamin Tetteh and Baba Iddrisu respectively.

After an end-to-end action in the opening ten minutes of the game, Zimbabwe started to cause troubles.

Kelvin Mosunde nearly got the opening goal for Zimbabwe by the 24th after he narrowly missed a cross from Khamat Billiat.

Three minutes later, Zimbabwe had another opportunity after a poor control from Ghana goalkeeper Wollacot after a pass from Baba Iddrisu nearly fell in the way of Knowledge Musonda. However, the shot-stopper recovered on time to save the situation.

Ghana took the lead by the 31st minute through Thomas Teye Partey. The Arsenal midfielder perfectly sent in his free kick

On the stroke of halftime, Daniel Amartey nearly doubled Ghana’s lead but his last ditch effort was cleared off the line and Benjamin Tetteh’s strike from rebound went high.

After the break, Kudus Mohammed almost doubled the Black Stars lead with a long range shot. However, his effort was denied by the cross bar.

On 55th minute, Jordan Zumuru came close to equalise for Zimbabwe when he was played through by his teammate but he surprisingly fluffed the opportunity.

Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac brought on Daniel Kofi Kyereh for Kamaldeen Sulemana by the 65th minute and the St. Pauli midfielder nearly scored with his first touch of the game.

Andre Ayew, Caleb Ekuban and Samuel Owusu later came in for Kudus, Tetteh and Jordan Ayew respectively to wind up time and secure a win.

South Africa will lock horns with Ethiopia in the other group game at the Soccer City Sports Stadium in Johannesburg and a win for the Bafana Bafana will see them reclaiming the top spot.

Ghana will play Ethiopia next month away in the penultimate game in Addis Ababa before they host South Africa to decide who will make it out of the group.

By Evans Gyamera-Antwi

Ghana coach Milvoan Rajevac has taken a bold decision to drop captain unfit Andre Ayew and youngster Fatawu Issahaku from his starting line-up to face Zimababwe in Tuesday’s crucial 2022 World Cup qualifier in Harare.

The Serbian coach looks to have axed his captain Ayew because of the obvious groin problems the midfielder has struggled with since he came to camp but managed to play through the pain barrier in Saturday’s match against the same opponent.

But the decision to leave Ayew, who is seen as one of the untouchables in the Black Stars squad, will come as a shock to many as many coaches would be keen on Ayew continuously playing through the pain barrier.

The decision to leave out Ayew and Issahaku means Baba Iddrisu and Benjamin Tetteh will get the chance to start the crucial Group G match in Harare.

Rajevac maintianed almost all his top guns that started in Saturday’s match against the same opponent with midfielder Baba Iddrisu coming on to take place of the talented youngster.

Under-fire Jordan Ayew will keep his place in the starting line up as the lone striker as Rajevac is confident over the overall contribution of the Crystal Palace striker to the Black Stars team.

The decision to start Iddrisu means Arsenal superstar Thomas Partey will start in an advanced attacking position unlike the defensive midfield position that restricted him from creating problems in the first-half on Saturday’s game in Cape Coast.

Impressive goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott will get the chance to start the match with England-based duo of Daniel Amartey and Baba Rahman maintain their right and left back positions respectively.

Alexander Djiku and Jonathan Mensah will keep their partnership in the centre of the defence while Iddrisu and Partey will form a solid central midfield partnership.

Jordan Ayew and teenage prodigy Kamaldeen Sulemana will be switching positions on the right and left wings of the Black Stars attack while playmaker Mohammed Kudus will play just behind striker Benjamin Tetteh.

Ghana requires three points in order to keep the pace with top-of-the-table South Africa in the race for qualification , and they are likely to be all-out to win again against Zimbabwe.

The Black Stars have been rejuvenated by the re-appointment Milovan Rajevac. The Serbian manager is hoping to recreate his heroics from 2010.

In spite of their current struggles Zimbabwe can cause some trouble on their home field as evidenced by their performance in the opening game.

Starting line-up:

1. Jojo 2. Amartey 3. Baba 4. Jonathan 5. Djiku 6. Baba 7. Ayew  8. Partey (c) 9. Tetteh, 10. Kudus 11. Kamaldeen

-GSN

The Black Stars gaffer believes his charges are ready to defeat the Warriors in the cliffhanger encounter on Tuesday

Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac has insisted that he not under intense pressure to defeat Zimbabwe in the all important return fixture of Fifa World Cup qualifying game to be played on Tuesday.

The Black Stars all three points in order to keep the pace on South Africa who are also playing at home against Ethiopia.

Ghana are a point behind South Africa going into the games today.

“First of all, I will like to thank Zimbabwe for their hospitality. This is my first time in Harare so we feel warmly welcomed and I am very happy to be here,” Milovan told the media.

“As we all know, this is a very important match for us and we expect a tough match. We respect the team we are playing against and we have a clear target, which is to qualify for the World Cup so we are going to do everything in our power to put good performance tomorrow and try to win.

“Definitely for us it is very important and we have our target and we know it is not going to be easy. The first match was also not easy because in some part of the match, Zimbabwe showed they also have quality.

“In the beginning of the second half, we were facing some difficulties which show there is no easy match and it is important to concentrate throughout the match to try to prepare a good game plan and to reach appropriately in some moment.

“I have faith and I have confidence in my players and I know they will do their best so we are hoping for the positive result. As I said, this is very important for us so we are trying to be positive all the time and not feel the pressure but confident for the match.

“I’ve been here for a short time and we are getting to know each other very well and it is difficult to make big changes in this short period of time but I think we are growing and we are improving. In every next match, I suppose we make fewer mistakes and try to improve our performance.

“These players are learning quickly and they are determined because they know what is at stake and so they are aware of the task. We function together and last match, we managed to have a positive result, which is very important. We don’t take time for experiments, we need to have good results and we are all aware of that so we will do our best to make it happen.

“In this kind of job and especially in this kind of situations you have to learn how to manage the pressure. For us it is a must win match and every next match is the most important and hardest match so let’s take one step at a time.

“We have confidence and so we will learn how to handle the pressure because if you cannot handle pressure, you can’t succeed in this game. It is something that we have to cope with and I think we will do that successfully,” he added.

Milovan was tight-lipped whether he will start Jordan Ayew or not against Zimbabwe as the Crystal Palace striker is yet to score in almost fifty games for club and country.

“I never reveal the starting line up the day before the match because this is not the way I do my work but the goal scorers and attackers often come to crisis and in this circumstances they are trying to overcome the problem and start scoring to make their performance better,” he said.

“We are here and we talk to him. He feels the support he gets from everybody. Whether he starts or comes as a substitute later in the game, we count on all of our players. As I always say, it is important to start the match in an appropriate way and to finish it in the right way,” he concluded.

The kick off time of the game has been slated for 15h00 GMT and 3pm local time.