Attention, Africa: Ghana have come alive

There are only three days between Monday and Friday but, for Ghanaian football fans, it could barely have taken longer to transform the Black Stars from the tame, awful lot that capitulated to Senegal on the week's first working day to the hungry, menacing side which put Algeria to the sword on its last.

Both games ended the same way, actually: a goal at the death which gave a certain West African team the triumph. In the latest instance, however, Ghana were the victors.

The man who got that matchwinner was skipper and forward Asamoah Gyan, who got restored to the starting line-up after missing Ghana's game versus the Teranga Lions with a bout of malaria. Latching onto Mubarak Wakaso's punt from deep, the 'Baby Jet' converted in a manner that is almost becoming his stock-in-trade: touch, run, finish. With that, he breathed life into Ghana's Afcon 2015 campaign, strengthened his claim on the Stars' all-time topscoring record, and equaled national hero Osei Kofi's long-standing tally of seven Nations Cup goals.

Had anyone failed to notice Gyan's essence to Ghana's play on the day, it certainly wasn't his coach, Avram Grant, and the Israeli was effusive in praise for the Al-Ain man post-match.

"I have coached some of the great players - and he's one of the greatest," said Grant to the Ghana Football Association's official website.

If, for a man who has coached some of the English Premier League's grandest stars, Grant seemed to exaggerate a little with his opening words, his next hit closer to the mark.

"Asamoah Gyan was not fit - he didn't train like he needed to - but he's Asamoah Gyan. "First - he always scores when you need him, and he's good for the spirit of the team; he's a very good captain."

Ghana's considerable improvement in the space of just five days was evident in more than just Gyan's late strike and the result it fetched.

All round, the Stars looked in better shape than they did in their opening Group C encounter. The defence was nearly impenetrable, the midfield clicked a tad smoother into place, and the attackers probed the opposition deeper. Some of the men who underperformed against Senegal - and were fortunate not to have been axed for the Algeria fixture - upped the ante, even if only slightly so. Needless to say, it did make a big difference.

The biggest difference, though, came from the bench. Grant, decked out in his blue polo shirt, rang the changes; Awal Mohammed and Rabiu Mohammed made way for Gyan and Afriyie Acquah. It would take a thoroughly numb man not to have felt the impact made. The substitutions also made better sense this time, both in terms of quality and timing.

Place all the pieces together, and it isn't too hard fathoming how a team that cowered before Senegal could stand up to Africa's top-ranked side. In the end, Ghana had a lot to celebrate: three crucial points, renewed self-belief, and, finally, that clean sheet.

Next up is a date with South Africa, a team that promised so much yet who find themselves rooted to the bottom of the pool with just a point to show after two rounds of games. That said, Ephraim Mashaba's charges - who drew against Senegal later on Friday - do realize that a win for them could just be enough to clinch one of the two quarter-final tickets in a group now thrown so widely open. And, for what it's worth, the Bafana Bafana would also be conscious of the stat which presents them as a country Ghana has failed to beat in three attempts at the Nations Cup. Of course, the significance of that piece of history would be sorted out when the pair clash on January 27 in Mongomo and, in the long run, after all the necessary permutations and tiebreakers have been applied.

In the meantime, though, Ghana's train, after huffing and puffing at the first stop, now hits the rails at full throttle and, for a side hardly renowned for getting off the blocks speedily at major tournaments, that could only be good news.

Sit up, Africa. Ghana just arrived at the party.