Ghana beat Zimbabwe in a crucial FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying fixture on Saturday.
The game was the first for recently appointed Milivan Rajevac who is back to the Black Stars for a second spell.
The Serbian who masterminded Ghana’s successful World Cup 2010 campaign has been tasked to secure a ticket to the next edition in Qatar next year.
Coach Rajevac keen on making an impact from the onset made a bold statement with his starting eleven for the clash. He handed debut starts to new goalkeeper Joojo Wollacot, teenager Abdul Fatawu Isahaku and maintained only one player from the defeat to South Africa last month.
The Black Stars made an electric start when Ajax Amsterdam offensive midfielder Mohammed Kudus broke the deadlock inside 5 minutes.
After a one-two play between him and Jordan Ayew on the edge of the box, Kudus literally passed the ball into the net to give Ghana the lead.
There were subsequent chances created by the Black Stars which they failed to utilize, eventually leading to a slim margin lead at the break.
Back from recess, Zimbabwe found themselves into the game when Ghana defender Alex Djiku fouled a Zimbabwean attacker in the box for a penalty.
Skipper Knowledge Musona stepped up and convertly neatly to restore parity for his side.
The scoreline transmitted concern throughout the stadium and triggered the first set of substitutions by the Ghana Coach.
Jordan Ayew, whose influence had waned before Zimbabwe equalized was subbed off for Benjamin Tetteh while Baba Iddrissu also came on for Fatawu Isahaku.
The change injected some new energy into the Ghanaian play and there were subsequent offensive action towards the Zimbabwean defensive area.
First, Benjamin Tetteh shot over with an attempt while Kudus and Andre Ayew failed to score with decent chances.
However the moment been sought after came when after successfully causing a turnover, Thomas Partey with some dummies in the box cooly shot into the right low corner to restore Ghana’s lead.
The goal was widly celebrated by the charged fans who saw the coach’s tactical tweak pay off.
With few minutes to end the game, Ghana skipper Andre Ayew who had worked tirelessly throughout got the goal his performance deserved. The Al Sadd attacker rose to head in Ghana’s 3rd following a sweet cross from Baba Rahman on the left.
The goal took away any fight in the Zimbabweans who conceded the game was beyond them.
The 3-1 result moves Ghana to 6 points and on 2nd position; one behind leaders South Africa who earlier defeated Ethiopia 3-1.
Zimbabwe will host Ghana in the next fixture which takes place on Tuesday October 12.
