Gyan brothers drop walkout threat

Ghana players Asamoah Gyan and Baffour Gyan threatened to walk out on the Black Stars in the wake of their unconvincing 1-0 win over Namibia.

BBC Sport has learnt the brothers had packed their bags and were ready to leave the team hotel on Saturday but were persuaded to stay by team-mates.Asamoah, 22, was booed during Thursday's match after missing several scoring chances for the host nation.

Some local radio stations in Accra strongly criticised him on Saturday.After hearing the sports discussion programmes, Asamoah decided to leave, and older brother Baffour joined him in solidarity.Asamoah plays for Udinese in Italy's Serie A.

Some radio stations had been going on all morning with personal attacks on Asamoah and in fact we are all sick of thisUnnamed Ghana playerGhana FA spokesman Randy Abbey denied any knowledge of the issue, but two players in the Black Stars camp have confirmed the incident to BBC Sport.A player who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity said: "We were shocked when we saw Asamoah and Baffour dressed up to leave the national team hotel.

"Some radio stations had been going on all morning with personal attacks on Asamoah and in fact we are all sick of this."Players and coaches came in and we ensured that they stayed with the team."The threat from the Gyan brothers came just a day after Asamoah made an emotional appeal to fans of the Black Stars over Thursday's taunts.Asamoah said: "I'm very sad because Ghanaians know what I can do on the field. The downfall of a man is not the end of his life.

"I have played 22 games for my country and scored 15 goals at my age."So if things are not going well, I expect encouragement from the fans, not criticism."I am working on my play and I will find my rhythm. If things go well it will be better for the team and Ghanaians as well."The Black Stars have been unimpressive despite winning their opening two games in Group A of the tournament.
Source:Ibrahim Sannie for BBC Sport

Egypt spanks Cameroon 4-2 in opening of Group ‘C’ match

Egypt, reigning African Champions, started their title defence with 4 - 2 spanking of Cameroon in the opening Group ‘C’ match of Ghana 2008 played at Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Tuesday.

The Pharoahs of Egypt did not spare the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon when they opened scoring in the 13th minute through a spot kick taken by Abdel Moteleb Abdrabou after Tsafack Nguemo Landry handled the ball in his vital area.
Before Cameroonians could put things together, the Egyptians, who were all over the field, increased the tally in the 14th minute through Abdalla Mohammed Zidan in a combined move with Fathy Abdel Ibrahim.

The Cameroonians accepted the challenge and came close to redeeming a goal but Landry, who had moved deep into the vital area of the Egyptians, shot wide in the 25th minute. The Lions continued to mount forays into the Egyptians territory but a chance that came their way in the 38th minute was squandered.

Zidan was on target again in the 45th minute to end the first half 3 - 0. Back from recess, Coach Otto Pfister of Cameroon introduced Alexandria Billong Song for Landry to tighten the midfield and this paid off as Indomitable Lions improved on their performance. It was, therefore, not surprising when they pulled a goal back in the 50th minute through Samuel Etoo, who nodded home a cross from Geremi Njitap.

They continued to improve on their game as Etoo, who had since the commencement of the game had been policed by the defence of Egyptians, distributed excellent passes. The Egyptians also brought in Mohamed Abouterika for Mansour Zakry Hasan in the 59th minute. In the 63rd minute, Joel Epalle of Cameroon was fouled and a free-kick taken by Njitap was pushed to Etoo but his shot missed the post narrowly.

The Cameroonians tightened their defence and made sure that the Egyptians could not create any more havoc for them while they launched a series of attacks. However, the Egyptians managed to break through the defence and made it 4-1 through Abdrabou Abdel, whose terrific shot caught goalkeeper Carlos Idris Kameni crawling in the 71st minute.

The Pharaohs then on took absolute control of the game but the defence built around Rigobert Song stood gallantly. The Cameroonians came close to redeeming a goal in the 75th minute and Epalle in an attempt to score from Mohamadou Idrissou cross collided with Egyptian goalkeeper Hadary Tawfik El Kamal, which brought about a hold up for them to be treated. Etoo scored from a spot kick awarded the Cameroonians during added time to bring the final score to 4-2 in favour of Egypt.

Zidan of Egypt was crowned the MTN man-of-the match.
Line up: Egypt: Kamal El Hadary, Fathalla Abdou Ibrahim, Mohamed Said Gad, Fathy Abdel Meneim Ibrahim, Abdrabou Abdel Moteleb, Abdalla Mohamed Zidan/El Mohamady Abdel Fatah Aly, Mohamed Abdelnabi Ibrahim, Shawky Aly Salam, Moawad Abdel Wahed/Mohamed Abdel Fattah Ragab, Mansour Zakry Hasan/Mohamed Abou Terika, Elhawty Kamel Gomaa.

Cameroon: Carlos Idris Kameni, Rigobert Song, Atouba Thimothee, Jeremi Njitap, Samuel Etoo, Macoun Jean, Landry Njuemo Tsafack/Alexandre Billong Song, Joel Epalle, Mohamadou Idrissou, Stephane Etoundi Mbia, Andre Amoujou Bikey.GNA

Ghana 2 Guinea 1

The black Stars of Ghana picked the first three points in the 26th Edition of the African Cup of nations opener, when they struggled against their Guinean counterparts in Accra.

Ghana paraded some of her best talents including the likes of Michael Essien and Suley Muntari Suleys' late minute strike secured the maximum points.

Summary
Scorers: Ghana: Asamoah Gyan 55 pen, Sulley Muntari 89 Guinea: Oumar Kalabane 65 Half-time: 0-0
Ghana: 22-Richard Kingson; 2-Hans Sarpei, 4-John Paintsil, 5-John Mensah; 18-Eric Addo, 8-Michael Essien, 7-Laryea Kingston, 11-Sulley Muntari; 3-Asamoah Gyan (13-Baffour Gyan, 85), 9-Junior Agogo, 20-Quincy Owusu Abeyie (12-Dede Ayew, 76)
Guinea:16-Kemoko Camara; 5-Dianbobo Balde, 12-Alseny Camara, 15-Oumar Kalabane, 21-Daouda Jabi; 2-Pascal Feindouno, 13-Mohamed Sacko, 8-Kanfory Sylla (23-Mamadou Dioulde Bah, 89), 10-Ismael Bangoura; 9-Victor Correa (14-Naby Soumah, 62), 11-Souleymane Youla (19-Karamoko Cisse, 62)
Referee: Eddy Maillet (Seychelles)

Black Stars

English-quartet in camp

Claude Le Roy has welcomed his English-quartet to Ghana’s camp base in Abu Dhabi as the Black Stars steadily get on with preparations for the African Cup of Nations.

Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, John Paintsil(picture) and Richard Kingson joined the team at midnight on Sunday to raise the squad number to 26.

The group of four have so far completed two training sessions with the rest of the team after taking part in both morning and the late afternoon trainings.

The only squad member yet to join in is goalkeeper, Sammy Adjei of Israeli side, Ashdod. Sammy Adjei’s arrival at the Abu Dhabi camp would hand Claude Le Roy a full house as he continues preparations ahead of the competition.

Ghana would get the tournament underway on January 20 at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra, the capital, with a game against Guinea in Group A.

The group also includes Morocco and Namibia.

Ghana squad:

Goalkeepers:

Richard Kingson (Birmingham City, England), Sammy Adjei (Ashdod, Israel), Fatau Dauda (Ashantigold, Ghana)

Defenders:

John Paintsil (West Ham, England), Dan Opare (Ashantigold, Ghana), Nana Kwasi Asare (FC Mechelon, Belgium), John Mensah (Rennes, France), Alhassan Illiasu (FC Saturn, Russia), Francis Dickoh (FC Utretcht, Holland) Hans Adu Sarpei (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Harrison Afful (Asante Kotoko, Ghana)

Midfielders:

Anthony Annan (I.K. Start, Norway), Eric Addo (PSV Eindhoven, Holland), Michael Essien (Chelsea, England), Bernard Kumodzi (Panionios FC, Greece), Laryea Kingston (Hearts, Scotland), Haminu Draman (Locomotiv Moscow, Russia), Moussa Narry (Etoile du Sahel, Tunisia), Stephen Appiah (Fenerbahce, Turkey), Sulley Muntari (Portsmouth, England), Andre Ayew (Olympique Marseille, France), Ahmed Barruso (AS Roma, Italy)

Strikers:

Matthew Amoah (NAC Breda, Holland), Asamoah Gyan (Udinese, Italy), Baffuor Gyan (FC Saturn, Russia), Junior Agogo (Nottingham Forest, England), Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (Celta Vigo, Spain), Kwadwo Asamoah (Liberty Professionals, Ghana).

Source: Ghanafa.org

Upsurge in narcotic in Konongo

hief Superintendent Richard Baduweh, Konongo Divisional Police Commander, has expressed grave concern about the increasing use of narcotic drugs, especially among the youth, in the Konongo Municipality.

He said the practice had become so rampant that the perpetrators were being arrested virtually on daily bases and called for a concerted effort from stakeholders to halt the trend.

Chief Superintendent Baduweh was speaking at a send-off party for the Divisional Crime Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Francis Baah at Konongo at the weekend.

The party which was organised by the Municipal Assembly was in recognition of the dedicated service ASP Baah rendered to the Municipality during his two-year duty tour. The Divisional Commander observed that his outfit would, this year intensify community patrolling to flush out drug peddlers and urged parents to closely monitor their children to prevent them from falling victims to the menace.

He commended personnel of the Community Protection Unit, whose recruitment he said had augmented efforts of the Police to maintain peace in the Municipality.

Mr George Frimpong, Asante Akim North Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), commended the Divisional Command for maintaining peace and order throughout the year and called for a renewed effort to combat crime. He said the Assembly would continue to support the Police in its activities and urged the general public to collaborate with the Police to enable them to perform their duties satisfactorily. ASP Baah expressed his profound gratitude to the Assembly, Nananom, Divisional Command and the general public for the assistance offered him during his tenure.

Source:

GNA

Pan African Parliament President in Ghana

The President of the Pan African Parliament, Dr. Gertrude Mongella, on Monday said there was the need to move the continental body from its current advisory role to a legislative body to speed up the development of Africa through common laws. She said the Pan African Parliament, as it stood now, had only advisory responsibilities but could not continue with that role since the body needed legislative functions and powers to harmonise national laws across the continent by giving legal backing to decisions taken by African Heads of State, as Africa prepared to have a united continent just like the European Union.

Dr. Mongella, who was speaking during a courtesy call on the First Deputy Speaker, Mr Freddie Blay in Accra praised Ghana for entrenching democracy, saying the country was a "big brother" in democracy. She expressed the hope that Ghana would maintain its lead in ensuring a peaceful 2008 general elections.

Mr Blay, on his part, touched on the need to harmonise national laws across Africa to ensure free trade and common ties in various areas of cooperation to push the development of the continent forward. Alhaji Alhasan Malik Yakubu, Second Deputy Speaker, who is also a member of the Pan African Parliament, said a strong continental parliament was needed to deal with conflicts and bad governance across the continent.

He praised Dr. Mongella for pushing hard to make the Pan African Parliament meet its desired target of becoming a body with legislative powers to entrench democracy across Africa. Dr. Mongella is expected to call on African Union Chairmn, President John Agyekum Kufuor to brief him on developments within the organisation.

Source:

GNA