Substitute Garry Rodrigues pounced in injury time to give Cape Verde a shock 2-1 win over four-time former champions, Ghana, in their opening game at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday.
The Black Stars looked set to come away with a draw after Alexander Djiku headed home to cancel out a Jamiro Monteiro goal for Cape Verde at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.
Majeed Ashimeru was also denied a goal for Ghana following a lengthy VAR check, but Cape Verde grabbed three points in the Group B match as Rodrigues found the net at the death.
It was a fine victory for the island nation, who reached the knockout stage at the last AFCON and put them top of the section after group rivals Egypt and Mozambique drew 2-2 earlier.
The evening was also notable for the second-half appearance as a substitute of Andre Ayew, with the 34-year-old becoming only the third player to feature in eight editions of the competition.
He now shares the record with Rigobert Song, currently the coach of Cameroon, and Egyptian Ahmed Hassan.
Yet of far greater concern to Ghanaians is the result for a country whose tally of AFCON victories is bettered only by Egypt and Cameroon. Punch
