Afcon 2017: André Ayew
gets Ghana off to winning
start but Egypt stutter
Ghana 1-0 Uganda
Mali 0-0 Egypt
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Africa Cup of Nations 2017
Africa Cup of Nations Ghana
André Ayew leads the Ghana celebrations after his winner put Avram Grant’s side in pole
position to qualify from Africa Cup of Nations Group D. Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty
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Associated Press
Tuesday 17 January 2017 21.47 GMT
André Ayew scored a penalty as Ghana
beat Uganda 1-0 on Tuesday in a
lacklustre opening to the four-time
champions’ bid for a first Africa Cup of Nations title in 35 years.
The West Ham United winger scored in the 32nd minute of the Group D game after Asamoah Gyan was held back by Isaac Isinde in the penalty area in Port- Gentil.
Avram Grant, a
former Chelsea manager, is looking
to lead Ghana to a second successive final in this tournament but go better than 2015 when his team lost on penalties against Ivory Coast . Uganda are also past runners-up in the Africa Cup of Nations but their trip to the final
in 1978 was also the last time they
qualified until making it to Gabon this time round.
In Group D’s evening game Egypt’s
goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary became the oldest player in the tournament’s history but his team could only manage a dour 0-0 draw with Mali. The 44-year-
old, who had been Egypt’s first-choice
keeper for two World Cup qualifiers late last year, was dropped for Tuesday’s
match, but came on in the 23rd minute after Ahmed El-Shenawi injured himself scrambling to tip away a curling cross.
He had little to do for the remainder of the first half as both teams struggled to break through tight defences, although
Mali’s Lassana Coulibaly missed a good opportunity from Moussa Marega’s cross in the 42nd minute.
Egypt’s first real chance came after the break when Marwan Mohsen surged through to head a clever cross from Abdallah El Said, but his effort was tipped over by Mali’s goalkeeper. The game remained a bruising midfield battle with too many mistakes and hardly any goal-scoring chances and it was only near the end of the game that
El Hadary was called into action to
come out to make a one-handed stop to deny Marega.
Egypt won three back-to-back Nations Cup titles between 2006 and 2010, but failed to qualify for the next three editions.
