England 1 Ghana 1

Match 60/10/878 - Tuesday, 29 March 2011 - International

England (1) 1 Carroll 43
Ghana (0) 1 Gyan 90
Att. 80,102

Entrance: £20
Programme: £6
Mileage: 100/9,058

Match Report

This was Ghana’s night. Their huge following made it the most atmospheric night at Wembley since it opened and a last minute goal from Asamoah Gyan gave the Africans a deserved draw.

The Ghanaians had felt slighted that Fabio Capello had allowed several of his side that appeared at the Millennium on Saturday to return home in favour of taking a look at some of the fringe players in his squad that included ex-Gillingham favourite Matt Jarvis, in the squad for the first time.

We travelled to Wembley with no great expectations but were treated to a highly entertaining game that was adorned with the noise and colour of the mass of Ghanaians that could easily have totalled 30,000.

After an early scare leaving Joe Hart to make a stop with his legs, several chances fell to England who were dominating proceedings. Ashley Young hit the bar from a couple of yards and Stewart Downing missed as the game ebbed and flowed with neither side closing the game down. Ghana were especially loose in defence and eventually England managed to take the lead just prior to the break and it was a first goal in an England shirt for Andy Carroll. A heavy touch from Downing was fortunate to roll into the path of the Liverpool striker whose first time shot from 15 yards rifled into the bottom corner.


The second half saw Ghana dominating proceedings but it took until the time added on before Gyan picked his way past the pedestrian Joleon Lescott to fire past Hart to the delight of the Black Stars fantastic support.



Midway through the half, attention switched from the pitch to the benches as Matt Jarvis was spotted pulling on his England shirt for his debut appearance for the Three Lions. It was a proud moment for Gillingham fans in the crowd, in truth in his 25 minutes on the pitch he was unable to make a significant impression on the game, but his Wolves form has been outstanding and he should have further opportunities.