BREAKING- Ghana clinched third place in Kirin Cup after 3-1 on penalties victory over Chile as goal-keeper Manaf Nurudeen was the hero saving three kicks
Ghana beat Chile to Kirin Cup third place after a 3-1 victory on penalties at the Suita City Stadium in Osaka on Tuesday morning. The African side lost out in the final place after 4-1 hammering by hosts Japan last Friday as they set eye on the third place.
Ghana’s goal-keeper Manaf Nurudeen was the hero of the game saving three of Chile’s four kicks.
Ghana may have learned from the first game mistakes, making five changes to the side that were beaten by Japan in the semifinals with Abdul Manaf Nurudeen in posts this time, Baba Rahman, Felix Afena Gyan, Fatawu Issahaku and Benjamin Tetteh replacing Lawrence Ati-Zigi, Andre Yiadom, Dennis Korsah, Christopher Antwi-Agyei and Jordan Ayew in the starting lineup.
Daniel Amartey, Edmund Addo, Seidu Alidu, Muarak Wakaso, Andre Ayew and Kudus Mohammed were the men who maintained their positions. The significant of the changes was Manaf Nurudeen whose superiority in the shootout see to it that Ghana win at the International stage for many games at local, youth and senior levels.
Unlike against Japan that Ghana were outclassed, Black Stars dominated Chile in the first half but their show rarely opened Chile’s back line. Kudus, Issahaku and Andre Ayew combined well behind Chile’s box, the first time in many games the trio have worked effectively joint.
With Ghana’s display lacking the penetration passes, Chile were able to relaxed right at their own half. The first half ended 0-0, what a distractive scoreline that was for Ghana, but they may have been boosted by their overall performance.
Ghana should have broken the deadlock from a corner midway in the second half but Benjamin Tetteh’s header hit the woodwork as Chile escaped conceding the first goal. The South American side overturned Ghana’s dominance pushed the Black Stars to their own half with some fluid displays.
That was after Ghana were reduced to nine men by the 65th minute after Alidu Seidu and on 78th minute after Mubarak Wakaso were shown the red card.
Ghana’s array of possession was distorted and failed to launched attack. Chile were sexy on the ball but Ghana were equally compact in defense for the Chileans to break through. The game ended goalless draw after 90′ minutes and penalty kicks was the next phase of decider as Ronnie Fernandez was the only player to convert Chile’s kick while Tomas Alarcon, Ben Brereton Diaz and Gary Medel missed.
For Ghana, goal-keeper Manaf Nurudeen was the hero saving three of the kicks. Jordan Ayew, Kudus Mohammed and Fatawu Issahaku scored their kicks with Ghana traveling home with a third place award in the Kirin Cup.
