The Black Stars of Ghana has been eliminated from the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament after losing 5-4 on penalties to the Carthage Eagles of Tunisia on Monday night.
A first half encounter that saw Tunisia enjoying the bigger chunk of possession had Ghana creating more goal scoring opportunities.
The Black Stars came close to scoring just 18 minutes into the match when defender Kasim Nuhu jumped highest to connect to a corner kick. His effort though was denied by the goalpost before Andre Ayew’s rebound was saved by Tunisia goalie Mouez Hassen.
After continuing their dominance in the half, Ghana got an equalizer on the 43rd minute courtesy a back heel from Captain Andre Dede Ayew only for it to be ruled as offside.
The West African country returned from the break and continued from where they left off but failed to get on the score sheet. Twenty minutes later, the game turned on its head with Tunisia going on a couple of dangerous counter attacks.
The introduction of danger man Wahbi Khazri resulted in the Carthage Eagles creating some decent goal scoring opportunities. First, they hit the crossbar from a corner kick before finally taking the lead through Taha Khenissi.
Late in the game, head coach for Ghana, James Kwesi Appiah introduced attackers Caleb Ekuban and Asamoah Gyan to try and get back into the game. That gave the side some edge but were frustrated by some delay tactics from their opponent.
A late own goal from Rami Bedoui was however enough to push the game into extra time as the game ended one all at the end of the 90 minutes.
The Carthage Eagles later went on to beat the Black Stars 5-4 on penalties to ensure they advance into the quarter-finals of this year’s tournament.
Tunisia is now expected to face Madagascar in the last 8 stage.