Ghana and DR Congo met on Sunday 26th January at the quarter final stage of the Orange African Nations Championship- South Africa 2014 with each side keen to be first to get a second CHAN win between the two sides. The Black Stars and Leopards were in the same group at the inaugural CHAN final in Ivory Coast in 2009. Ghana cantered to a 3-0 win during the group stage but when they met again in the final the Leopards turned the tables to win (2-0) and capture the trophy.
The runners-up tag has since not sat well with Ghana who have been looking for atonement and now at Mangaung’s Free State Stadium they have a chance to engage the Congolese again. “We know about DR Congo and certainly want to avoid what happened last time when perhaps we allowed our earlier win against them to detract us from the strength of opponents and we paid for it. We do not want to repeat this and come Sunday we will be ready and focused to put on a performance that will hopefully take us to the final” said Black Stars coach, Maxwell Konadu. Ghana welcomes back striker Yahaya Mohammed who returns after serving a one-match ban. Ghana attacking ability looked shaky without the dreadlocked Asante Kotoko forward in their last group game against Ethiopia.
DR Congo arrived in Mangaung and immediately declared that playing Ghana motivates them and while they respect their opponents they do not see themselves as underdogs at all. “While past results do not mean much to a new game, the knowledge that you won a major Cup against your opponents can work wonders for personal and team motivation “ said DR Congo goalkeeper and captain Robert Kidiaba. “Ghana is a good side but not unbeatable warriors. We are preparing this match with seriousness and we respect our opponent and yes we expect a tough match for both sides but we will do our best to progress to semis.”
DR Congo have reached the second round in all three CHAN finals they have played and come into the quarter final boosted by victory (2-1) in a must win final Group D game against Burundi. The win enabled the Leopards to escape a potential first-ever preliminary stage exit from the tournament and Kidiaba believes that this win lifted the team morale and the belief is back that they can go far in this competition. The two sides are one apiece in wins in CHAN tournament and this quarter final clash offers a chance for someone to edge ahead in head to head at CHAN this adds the drama to the match.
The reward for the of the Ghana versus DR Congo on Sunday is a semifinal encounter with either Nigeria or Morocco on Wednesday 29th January at Free State Stadium in Mangaung.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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