The Syli Nationale of Guinea grabbed a late equaliser to peg the Black Stars back to 1-1in Casablanca as Ghana failed to take a commanding lead in African Cup of Nations Qualifying Group E.
Asamoah Gyan’s early opener looked to have secured all three points for the Stars, but Ibrahima Traore had other ideas, his 81st minute thunderbolt leaving the Stars red faced as they could only manage a lethargic draw.
The game was held in the Morrocan capital because of the Ebola status of Guinea, which made it an unnecessary risk for Ghana to travel there.
This was the first game of Kwesi Appiah’s former assistant Maxwell Konadu, put in temporary charge following the dismissal of his former boss by the GFA last month.
And the former Asante Kotoko coach kept faith with the selections of his former boss, maintaining the same starting line up from the previous game, the 3-2 win in Lome which turned out to be Appiah’s last hurrah.
The team started brightly, eager to gain an early lead to enable them better control proceedings.
And Gyan gained the team exactly that comfort in the 28th minute, expertly controlling a slick through ball from Jordan Ayew to calmly fire past Guinea goalie Naby Yattara.
The Ayews, Gyan, and Kwadwo Asamoah were combining for some neat interplay but the Stars could not add to their tally.
The half ended in favour of Ghana, but Guinea came out more purposefully in the second half and had numerous opportunities to equalise, but somehow squandered them all.
The Ghanaian defence was in shambles, and at times it was only the quick anticipation of Stephen Adams that kept them in the game.
But an unstable dam can only hold the flood back for so long, and Ghana’s patchy defence work was finally punished nine minutes from time.
Borussia Monchengladbach’s Ibrahima Traore took the ball, neatly cut in and hit a thunderbolt past the hapless Stephen Adams.
Togo’s 1-0 win in Kampala means Ghana retains top spot in the group, on five points after three games.
Guinea and Uganda follow on four, with the group propped up by Togo on three points.
The return encounter is slated for Tamale this Wednesday, with Ghana badly needing a win to remain favourites to reach the Nations Cup, incidentally to also be held in Morocco next year.