The third play-offs are often dreaded by players and spurned by fans, how does a team lift itself after going so far but know its best isn’t good enough, how do the fans lift themselves emotionally after watching their dreams shattered in the death match that is the semi-finals. We were not expecting much but Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana served up a feast of football to raise the morale of both sets of fans and players.
Maybe it was because being in the play-offs meant both teams were freed from the tension of competing for the ultimate prize, whatever the reason it turned out to be a six goal cracker. Ghana had their captain John Mensah back after his one game suspension and Cote d’Ivoire changed several of its regular starters including injured keeper Boubacar Barry and defender Kolo Toure.
Ghana started off the brighter and were soon rewarded on the 10th minute when they won a free-kick about 25 yards into the Cote d’Ivoire half. Up stepped Sulley Muntari and he unleashed another of his trade mark screamers, Ivorien 3rd choice keeper Tiasse Kone stood no chance and Ghana took an early lead. Cote d’Ivoire rallied and striker Boubacar Sanogo starting in his first game for the Ivoriens this tournament began to make an impact.
In the 23rd minute of the game he latched on to a laser guided pass from Kader Keita and unleashed a shot low and hard that gave Richard Kingston in the Ghanaian goal no chance. Cote d’Ivoire were not done and five minutes later Kingston was forced into a pair of world class double saves off shots from both Drogba and Salomon Kalou. Moments later a shot from Didier Drogba was well saved by Kingston but this time the rebound was snapped up by Sanogo who weaved his way past flailing Kingston to make it 2-1 to the Ivoriens.
The Ivoriens continued to apply the pressure and the man Sanogo was in the thick of things. On the 38th minute Drogba prised open the Ghanaian defence and slipped a pass to Sanogo whose shot beat Kingston but rattled the cross bar denying him a hat-trick. The Ivoriens had a chance to add another one before half time but when Salomon Kalou found himself with the ball in the Ghanaian eighteen he dallied on it too long and was dispossessed before he could get a shot off.
After the excitement of the first half the second half started off in a somewhat muted fashion with the invasion of the stadium by a horde of flying termites attracted by the floodlights being one of the most exciting moments. It was not to stay that way as Ghana gradually began to raise their level of intensity and it paid off as on the 65th minute as Quincy Owusu-Abeiye slalomed through the Ivorien defence to score a fine individual goal.
The Ivorien defence was beginning to look creaky and with 20 minutes to go a pass from Micheal Essien split it open freeing up Junior Agogo who made no mistake and restores Ghana’s lead. Four minutes later Haminu Dramani joined in the act as his speculative shot takes a wicked bounce and leaves Ivorien keeper Kone clutching air and seals an emphatic Ghanaian victory with a 4-2 aggregate.
The one time favourites Cote d’Ivoire have now conceded eight goals in two matches and must be wondering how they went so wrong so quickly, while Ghana are left celebrating the consolation of a third place spot in a tournament they had so dearly wanted to win.