Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan believes they used their experience to ditch Botswana 1-0 in their Nations Cup opener on Tuesday, but admits Ghana were lucky.
Captain John Mensah was unmarked inside the box when he pounced on a loose ball during a corner on 25 minutes. The Black Stars failed to live up to expectations as they struggled to break down their Southern African opponents in the opening Group D match.
The Zebras nearly drew level but for John Boye’s classic acrobatic goal-line clearance in the 51st minute with goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey completely beaten.
Striker Gyan, who was tightly marked in the game, admits they were lucky to escape with the victory. “We were lucky we won by 1-0 and this shows the character our boys had and we had the red card, we kept our composure, we possessed the ball, the way we did,” Gyan said.
“We’ve got a lot of experience and this is the first time for Botswana so we knew what they were going to do. “All the eleven players were behind the ball and so it was difficult for them to score as well.”
Ghana will next play Mali at the Stade Franceville on Saturday.
