Namibia hold Ghana to a draw

Namibia gave an inspired performance to hold Ghana to a 1-1 draw in an Under 20 African Football Qualifying match on Saturday night. Although the result was never an issue after the Under 20 world champions Ghana had won the first leg 4-0 in Accrah a fortnight ago, Namibia took the game to their opponents from the start with a fine display of attacking football.

Sydney Urikhob and Eslin Kamuhanga made their presence felt with some early shots at goal, while Ikuaterua Tjozongoro put in some strong runs down the right wing.

Ghana were content to soak up the pressure and strike on the counter attack and their captain Bright Addae came close with a long range effort on 12m that was well saved by Collin Ndjai.

Ghana took the lead against the run of play on 30m when they launched a quick counterattack and Richard Bookye ran onto a long clearance to lob the ball over Ndjai into an empty net.

Namibia were however soon on level terms when Tjozongoro was fouled in the box after an impressive burst of speed and Kamuhanga stepped up to send Ghana’s keeper James Acheampong the wrong way with his spot kick.

Ghana attacked more in the second half with Andoh Enoch heading over from a corner, while Ndjai pulled off a fine reflex save from a Aziz Abdul header.

With Addae, Kwame Nsor and Nurudeen Yusif providing extra attacking options down the wings, more chances came Ghana’s way as Abdul, Mahatma Osumanu and Frank Acheampong all came close to scoring, but they could not beat Ndjai who had a fine game in Namibia’s goals.

Namibian coach Bernard Kaanjuka brought on Black Africa’s lanky striker Roger Katjiteo for Kozonguizi in the second half, but he failed to make an impact and Namibia’s chances were few and far between.

With the victory Ghana now progress 5-1 on aggregate to the next round where they will meet the winers between Benin and Burkina Faso.

After the match, Ghana’s coach Orlando Wellington paid tribute to Namibia for a fine performance.

“The game was very interesting and I was highly impressed with the performance of the Namibian team. They played much better than they did in Ghana,” he said.

Wellington said that his team only included one player - right defender Bright Addae - who was a member of their 2009 Under 20 world champion team.

“We had only one player, our right defender Bright Addae who was a member of our Under 20 World Cup team. The rest are new players whom we are trying to build up for the future.”

When asked if his new squad could emulate their predecessors and win the Under 20 World Championships, Wellington said there was still a long way to go.

“We still have a long way to go to achieve the same successes as our predecessors and we will have to work hard.”