Sofiane Boufal’s late emphatic score enabled Morocco to emphatically walk past resilient Ghana in the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday evening.
Ghana lost concentration in the area at the death of the game with enabled Sofiane to find an abandoned ball in the box and he perfectly slotted it home.
Ghana clearly showed interest in attacking right from the start through the wings though Morocco’s wing-backs stood firm to face the early challenge.
Wolves defender Roman Saiss jumped highest to meet a hard corner kick but his effort went inches wide from the left goalpost hence keeping the result intact.
Three minutes past half an hour mark, Thomas Partey took a hard freekick over the wall but his curled effort went inches above the crossbar leaving the Ghana faithful on the feet.
Seven minutes later, Saiss was back at it with a close attempt but his header off an inch-perfect freekick went above the framework after beating the men in the area.
Ghana’s Joseph Paintsil went through a number of Moroccan bodies but his effort later from the edge of the box miserably flew away from the goal area.
After recess, Morocco mounted pressure on to Ghana after increasing the pace. Adam Masina led the party of short and quick passes but Ghana paraded several bodies at the back.
Ghana found their most clinical chance through Paintsil who met a rebound just outside the box but his curling shot forced Morocco’s custodian into a top-class save.
With seven minutes on the clock, Sofiane Boufal fiercely shot into the back of the net after Thomas Partey lost possession in the area.
The result took Morocco to the top of the group log with three points and a goal.
How they lined up:
Morocco XI: Yassine Bounou (Gk), Achraf Hakimi, Adam Masina, Nayef Aguerd, Ghanem Saiss, Imran Louza, Azz-Eddine Ounahi, Zakaria Aboukhlal, Selim Amallah, Sofiane Boufal, Sammy Nwambeben
Ghana XI : Joseph Wollacot (Gk), Andrew Kyere Yiadom, Thomas Partey, Andre Rami Ayew, Paintsil Joseph, Abdul Baaba, Daniel Amartrey, Iddris Mohammed, Kamal Sulemana, Alaxander Djiku
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