England Vs Ghana

I was meant to write this as soon as the game finished but have been a very busy boy so I have finally got round to writing it.

This game was set up to be a horrible one the day after the Wales game, Capello wanted to make 11 changes to the team which is a punch in the face to all the fans (England and Ghana) who came to see the best players from each country and me included. I and several friends wanted a refund, a great point was made on twitter "If Haye vs Klitschko was changed to be Harrison vs Klitschko, everyone would be wanting their money back and this game was no exception"

So as we were refused refunds, we had no choice but to go to the game, as a Chelsea fan I was hoping Essien would do a U-turn and come back to play for Ghana but he is still unsure due to past injuries. England fielded a decent but I already had a few concerns based on previous times, Baines is a terrific left-back but when he plays he England, he tends to hold back a lot more and not bomb forward like he does for Everton. Ashley Young was in a central for some bizarre reason when everyone knows he is a out and out winger.

The game started and England were looking relaxed until Ghana has the first big chance to take the lead through Asamoah Gyan, he unfortunately was matched by Joe Hart who was to have one of his best games in a England shirt.

England also created a few chances, Wilshere in the middle was looking effective while Carroll was slowly getting into the game. Jageilka was looking decent but was struggling against Gyan, chances were at both ends until Carroll scored 2 mins before half time. A cross from the left was miscontrolled by Downing but put in the path of Carroll who shot with his left to the bottom left hand corner of Kingston who had been making some good saves for Ghana up to this point.

2nd half brought one sub from England, Lescott came on for Glen Johnson which switched Jageilka at right-back, a position he hasn't played at since his days at Sheffield United. The more the 2nd half went on, the more Ghana looked like getting something from the game. The England team looked lost and were struggling, Joe Hart was making decent saves keeping England ahead. The introduction of Jarvis for his first England cap brought a big of life to the game and he did look effective on the left, Welbeck also came on for England in the last 5 mins for his first cap with a lot of boo's from the Ghana fans.

So it was to be the last minute that Ghana would score and the magic of Gyan would be shown, taking the ball to the outside and then switching inside onto his left leaving Lescott stranded and slotting the ball home to the joy of 25,000 Ghana fans.

Full time whistle came shortly afterwards to the chorus of boo's from England fans. England didn't deserve a win and didn't deserve to lose so a draw was a fair result. This Ghana team is certainly going places while everyone is still not sure what Capello is up to.

Ratings England (out of 10):                                                            Ratings Ghana (out of 10):

Hart 7                                                                                                     Kingson 8
Baines 6                                                                                                 Addy 7
Cahill  6                                                                                                  Mensah 7
Jagielka 5                                                                                               Vorsah 6
Johnson 5                                                                                               Pantsil 6
Downing 4                                                                                              Asamoah 7
Wilshere 7                                                                                              Muntari 7
Young 6                                                                                                  Badu 7
Milner 5                                                                                                  Annan 7
Barry 3                                                                                                   Gyan 9
Carroll 7                                                                                                 Adiyiah 6
                                                                                                            
Subs:                                                                                                      Subs:
Lescott 6                                                                                                Opare 5
Jarvis 7                                                                                                  Mensah 5
Defoe 5                                                                                                  Inkoom 5
Welbeck 4                                                                                             Boateng 6
                                                                                                              Tagoe 6
                                                                                                              Ayew 6

MOTF: Although Dowing was given it at the stadium to a massive round of boo's, I felt the best player by far was Gyan. He ran for everything and done brilliantly, deserved his goal.

Flops: The whole England except Jarvis who looked good when he came on, Carroll who looked decent and always caused trouble and Hart who was excellent all game! I hope to never see Barry in a England shirt again and the same can be said for Downing.