Sulley Muntari went past his marker of the left side of attack after Fullham`s John Paintsil sent him a along pass and immediately crossed into the box which Prince Tagoe tapped swerving Yoann Djidonou in post.

This has empowered the Black Stars to occupy Group D with three points. Sudan and Mali also in the same group drew one all over the weekend. The Squirrels of Benin came close to leveling up but Romuald Boco shot way above the crossbar.

Surprisingly, before the game pundits and fans have predicted a cricket score line for the Black Stars against the Squirrels of Benin. The Squirrels played all attacking and all defending game exhibiting speed and endurance. They were very mobile and controlled the midfield but finishing was porous.

The two danger men of Benin French Stephane Sessegnon and Razak Omotoyosi, created a lot of space but were unable to go pass the central defense pair of Ghana.

Inter Milan’s dynamo Sulley Ali Muntari in the 70th minute had a thunderbolt but was denied by the cross bar. Italian and French-based Kwadjo Asamoah and Asamoah Gyan changed the game when the Black Stars mounted pressure on the Squirrels defense but could not increase the tally.

In an interview with the inspirational Captain Stephen “Tornado” Appiah and Chelsea Michael Essien, they agreed that the match was not easy although they would have loved to score more goals. Nevertheless “this is the beginning and we should be grateful to have won the three points and hope to continue to leave no stone on turned”.

South Africa Referee Bennet Daniel and his two other nationals Rezees Andrew and Ebrahim Basit handled the game and Gambia’s Kinteh Seedy was the match Commissioner.

Score line for all the Five Groups:

Togo 1 - 0 Cameroon
Morocco 1 - 2 Gabon
Kenya 1 - 2 Tunisia
Mozambique 0 - 0 Nigeria
Rwanda 0 - 0 Algeria
Egypt 1 - 1 Zambia
Sudan 1 - 1 Mali
Ghana 1 - 0 Benin
Burkina Faso 4 - 2 Guinea
Cote d'Ivoire 5 - 0 Malawi