Ghana have put themselves back in contention in the African Cup of Nations, and are now in with a possibility of reaching the quarter finals of the African Nations tournament with a hard fought 1-0 win against Senegal.

A 13th minute goal from Borussia Dortmund striker Matthew Amoah was enough to give the World Cup finalists the victory and put them on level points with Senegal in Group D.

The game started at a frantic pace, with both teams testing each other out, but with Senegal seeming to start the game as the stronger force.

The first chance of the game came after 10 minutes, but Ghana striker Matthew Amoah could only fire his shot straight at the Senegal keeper Tony Sylva.

Amoah did not take long to make amends though, when three minutes later he managed to sneak in behind the Senegalese defence, and, looking like he was being shepherded out of play, managed to get a shot in from the most acute of angles, which slipped in between the keeper and the near post to give the Black Stars the lead.

Ghana almost added a second on 20 minutes, when the impressive John Mensah sneaked round the back of the Senegal defence to connect with a Laryea Kingston free kick, but his looping header agonisingly struck the top of the crossbar.

This seemed to spur the Senegalese into action, and they should have equalised when Bolton Wanderer's El Hadji Diouf got on the end of a Henri Camara cross, but put his header wide with the pressure of the Ghanaian keeper Sam Adjei bearing down on him.

The next chance fell to the Black Stars, with midfielder Joetex Frimpong completely missing a free header just yards from goal, after Haminu Draman had played in a perfect cross.

Ghana began to take control of the game and former Juventus star Stephen Appiah, who is currently playing for Turkish side Fenerbache, hit a stinging shot which fell to the feet of Matthew Amoah, but the striker was unable to score his second goal of the game as the Senegal broke down their attack.

The the start of the second-half saw Senegal bring on Fulham FC's Papa Bouba Diop, a.k.a “The Wardrobe”, (a reference to the players size), at in an attempt to take control of the game, but within 30 seconds the Ghanaians could have made it 2-0, but Kingston couldn’t get enough power on his shot, with keeper Sylva saving with his legs.

Senegal then began to take control of the game, but without carving out any clear-cut goalscoring opportunities. El Hadji Diouf fired a free kick over from 18 yards, and Rahmane Barry sent his volley wide from just outside the area.

Then, Senegalese defender Habib Beye and Ghana’s Laryea Kingston were both sent off in the 62nd minute, after an off-the-ball clash caused a major over-reaction after Senegalese striker Habib Beye slightly shoved Kingston in the chest, seeing Kingston flailing to the ground, and in the end both players saw the red-card from the referee.

It was the Senegalese who seemed to get the upper-hand after going down to ten men, but despite their dominance in possession, they were unable to break the Ghana defence and the 'Black Stars' held out for a well-earned victory that sees them avoid an embarrassing early exit from the tournament.

If Ghana manage to secure a win in their final group game against Zimbabwe, they will be virtually guaranteed a place in the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations.

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