Ghana registered a famous win on Saturday as they beat the Czech Republic 2-0 in Cologne to keep alive their hopes of qualification from Group E. Asamoah Gyan gave the Black Stars the perfect start, netting in the second minute, before all three points were sealed by a late Sulley Muntari strike.

It could have been worse for the Czechs though, after Gyan missed the chance to double his personal tally by striking a penalty against an upright in the 66th minute.

The spot kick was awarded after Czech defender Tomas Ujfalusi tripped Mathew Amoah in the box as the striker was about to pull the trigger.

Ujfalusi - who earned his 50th cap on the night - was sent off for what was, quite correctly, deemed a professional foul, leaving the Czechs to play out the remaining 25 minutes with ten men.

And it showed as Ghana launched wave after wave of attack on the Czech goal, and if it was not for the excellent Petr Cech in goal, the scoreline could have been a lot harsher.

WASTED CHANCES

Gyan himself was guilty of missing a hat-full of chances, although he was not alone, as both Muntari and Michael Essien also wasted good chances to seal victory.

The game started badly for the Czechs - who were definite pre-match favourites after their 3-0 win over the US in their opening game - as Gyan chested down a Stephen Appiah centre to get past Ujfalusi before firing low past Cech.

Karel Brueckner's side attempted to get back into the game but were all too often out-muscled by the Africans, and without the injured Jan Koller and Milan Baros up front, the chances that were created were finished poorly.

LITTLE TO SHOUT ABOUT

One Czech player to shine was new Arsenal signing Tomas Rosicky, who terrorised the Ghanaians on several occasions with his mazy runs from midfield.

But - other than a Pavel Nedved header that found the back of the net at the beginning of the second half, that was ruled out for offside - Richard Kingston in the Ghanaian net was rarely seriously troubled.

And after the dismissal of Ujfalusi - who was sent off amid confusion on the pitch as Gyan converted the resulting penalty, only to be booked for taking it too early and ordered to retake it - the Czechs never looked like getting back into the game.

WIDE OPEN

Muntari made all three points safe with eight minutes remaining as he was given too much time and space in the Czech box to control a Stephen Appiah pass, before turning and firing high into the roof of the net.

A third goal seemed certain with just two minutes remaining, when Razak Pimpong burst through the last line of defence, but the substitute opted to pass to Muntari instead of going alone, and the linesman raised his flag to rule out Muntari's simple finish.

The victory throws Group E wide open, and much now rests on the outcome of Italy's clash with the US later in the day.

"I think everything's open now," goalscorer Gyan said. "The next game against the U.S. is very, very important.

"We made up for our mistakes (in the 2-0 defeat against Italy) and we showed we can produce a powerful performance. We were the better team today."

Man-of-the-match : take your pick of Ghana players, but it has to be Petr Cech - it could have, and would have, been so much worse for the Czechs if it was not for the Chelsea goalkeeper affirming his status as the best number one in the world.
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