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Going into the game, the expectations of pundits, fans, and neutrals lay on the shoulders of the Black Stars: they were expected to take three points and top the group.
Those expectations weren't exactly undeserving as their opponents have not even won a game at AFCON before. With Benin's poor record of 8 losses and 1 draw, anyone would hand this game to the Ghanians.
Yet, Ghana failed to reach expectations, let alone exceede them. The game began on a high note as the Black Stars won freekicks within the first minute. Ghana's defensive line strolled upfield, prepared to recycle possession and keep the pressure on the Squirrels, and that cost them almost immediately.
The Squirrels picked up the ball within their half and took off on a counter with an unprepared Black Stars defence too high up to track back. Beninese winger Cebio Soukou threaded a through-pass into Ghana's unpositioned defence to find Mickael Pote who snuck free from a defender and put the ball past goalkeeper Richard Ofori.
Within seven minutes of play, Ghanian star Andre Ayew found the bottom-right corner of the goal with a left-footed shot after cutting in from the right side of the field. Just before the first half came to an end, Jordan Ayew received a through ball from Kasim Adams and took an unstoppable right-footed driven shot into the top-right corner of the goal.
The Ghanaians entered the second half leading the game with 2 goals to 1, but a second yellow card for Black Stars centre-back John Boye for time-wasting sealed the game to their chagrin. Within eleven minutes of Boye's sending off, Pote doubled his goal tally and equalized for the Squirrels.
The Ghanaians were unable to score a third goal and ended the match with a point shared by both sides. The Black Stars will also be unhappy that they lost to Benin in terms of ball possession and shots on goal.
We take a look at three players who did well and two players who flopped from both teams.
#5 Hit - Andre Ayew (Ghana)
Early on in the game, only seven minutes after Pote's goal, Andre Ayew cut in from the right wing and took a low shot into the bottom-right corner with his left foot.
His immediate response to Pote's shocker gave Ghana a way back into the game.
Until his subsitution in the 89th minute, he maintained composure on the ball, kept good control, and didn't get dispossessed by the opponent. While his goal came from his only shot on target (out of 2 in total), he kept pressure on the Beninese alongside his brother Jordan.
#4 Flop - Christian Atsu (Ghana)
The Newcastle United player delivered a poor and unstable display against Benin. He was caught offside twice, dispossessed three times, and consistently controlled the ball poorly.
Atsu took two shots on goal, but none were on target. While he had a 91% passing accuracy from a total of only 23 passes, he didn't have a single key pass, and he had one of the fewest touches on both sides (for a player who stayed on for the entire match).
Ghana manager Kwesi Appiah may be willing to place faith in Atsu for their next AFCON clash against Cameroun on Saturday, but it might be a better option to drop him.
#3 Hit - Jordan Ayew
With a searing right-footed drive past Fabien Farnolle into the top corner of the goal, Jordan Ayew put Ghana ahead and looked set to take three points home.
With 6 aerials won (the maximum on the entire pitch) and 42 touches, Ayew's performance was every target-man's goal. He held the ball up effectively, was fouled 6 times (another maximum), and helped out defensively with two tackles and an interception.
He deserved the Man of the Match award which could very easily have gone to Mickael Pote.
#2 Flop - John Boye (Ghana)
The worst rated player on the field today would be John Boye who received a second yellow in the 54th minute for time-wasting.
While time-wasting is standard procedure in football for getting your opponents frustrated and keeping them from playing when they urgently need to, it is usually done towards the end of the game by the winning side. Side note: it most certainly isn't done by a player that has already been booked.
It is unlikely that Appiah instructed his team to start wasting time with 40 minutes of gameplay left. Either way, the fault remains on Boye who left the Ghanians lurching early on with ten men.
#1 Hit - Mickael Pote (Benin)
34-year-old Mickael Pote clearly isn't ready to retire any time soon. Setting the stage with a brace in this AFCON edition has put his name on the lips of pundits and fans alike.
His pace and quick feet saw him get to the ball first and set him free from a marauding defender, placing a composed shot to put Benin ahead. His second goal that gave Benin one point was all quick feet that unexpectedly snuck the ball past the keeper.
With a total of 5 shots, the most in the Beninese team, Pote was clearly the potent force that Ghana failed to stop. Added to his 2 key passes and a passing accuracy of 84%, he was one of the best players on the field.
