Why Ghana Lost.

Ghana and Uruguay were involved in a quarter-final duel that was more competitive than most of the matches we have seen at this South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup. What was outstanding was the speed of attack, timely and clean interceptions and incisive passing in midfield. Going forward, both defences made sure they cut dangerous balls going into sensitive areas.

Ghana; The Africans were guilty of lack finishing touch. They were allergic to the ball in the 18 area. They did well not to over-burden themselves with  a need to meet the expectation of the people. It was counter to their self belief though, until about half-way through the first-half.

Ghana were such a cohesive unit, defending without silliness. John Mensah was particularly impressive in dealing with the notorious Suarez. The midfield gave too much respect to Diego Forlan. They failed to track him down. They let him draw a lot of confidence as he touched the ball far too often.

complacency on the penalty. The Black Stars of Ghana were their worst enemies, losing concentration at decisive moments. They failed to deliver the killer pass when they had the South Americans on the back foot. It is an attribute of strong teams to finish off anyone back paddling.

While they may be said to have not had luck on the day, the truth must be told. They failed 'a boys to men' test. Exactly when they needed to stand up, compose and tuck the penalty away into the semi-final, they fizzled away, ballooning the African hopes into the dark night. The black night turned into a nightmare for one shining Black Star, Asamoah Gyan. I defend him for that penalty miss. It was over-confidence. Half the foot was striking the ball while the other half was doing the African celebration dance at the corner flag. 

Uruguay; The South Americans got to every ball first, winning the second ball as well. They ran rings for the entire first 25 minutes and could have been comfortably ahead, were it not for Kingsons' goalkeeping heroics. It was always going to be a tiring affair hitting on a wall.

Diego Forlan, a former Manchester United forward was the actual difference. Forlan let the two strikers play ahead of him, while he roamed the centre of the park at will. He collected all loose balls in midfield and fed the front-runners effectively. His telling work-rate came under check at the 20 minute mark, when he felt he had been doing the donkey work without Suarez turning them into goals.

Diego Forlan retired to a solo striking position, leaving Ghana space to crawl back into the game. Ghana enjoyed the majority of possession to the point of Sully Muntari's wonder strike that had been preceded by a few free-kicks for Ghana.

The Uruguayans showed resilience and endurance, getting the much-needed equaliser when they had to. They remained more disciplined under the Black Stars pressure.

During extra time, there was not much to separate the two teams up to the vital moment of sheer luck. A clear goal scoring opportunity was denied Steven Appiah by hand. The ensuring sending off and penalty were going to be the last activities of the eventful night. Gyan froze, and did the world for a lot of Africans. The crossbar seemed to have come a little lower for the ball to pass into the net. There was no way Ghana were going to survive what followed.

Sad day for Africa football.