Black Meteors pip Liberia in Accra

The Black Meteors, Ghana's Olympic team recorded a narrow 1-0 victory over their Liberian counterparts in the second leg of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games qualifier played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The result gives the Ghanaians a massive 6-0 aggregate win as the Meteors had earlier on Wednesday beaten the Liberians 5-0 in the first leg match decided at the Len Clay Stadium in Obuasi.

The two matches had to be played in Ghana because of the war situation in Liberia.

Samuel Kyere scored the only goal of the match on 41 minutes when he sprinted on the right and sliced a right footer past Andrew Williams, the Liberian goalkeeper.

The Meteors nearly made it a brae, four minutes later, when Kwaben Asamoah Frimpong who plies his trade in Nigeria thundered a snap volley on the bar but his colleagues in attack failed to convert the rebound.

The first Meteor attempt at goal was on two minutes but the opportunity was fluffed when Kyere headed wide form a very good position.

Ghana continued to press their opponents but the Ghanaian goalkeeper Isaac Amoako had to stretch full length to prevent a Liberian goal in the 27th minute as he parried a dangerous ball from James Cooper to corner.

With ten minutes to the end of the first half, the Meteors initiated a swift counter attack but Kyere played the ball tamely into the hands of the Liberian goalkeeper.

Emmanuel Adoquaye Pappoe failed to increase the tally for the Meteors when he swung the ball over the top after the Liberian goalkeeper had moved way out of position, leaving a yawning net.

A minute into the second half, Barusso Ahmed Apimah, the huge defender from Abedi Pele's Nania F/C hit a powerful shot from about 35 metres and Williams had a difficult time steering it away from goal.

Don Bortey produced a flash of his form when he sprinted down the right and delivered an excellent flick into the penalty box but the ball surprisingly missed all the Ghanaian attackers and was cleared to safety by Murphy Nagbe.

On 69 minutes the catalogue of Ghanaian misses continued when Asamoah-Frimpong shot straight at the Liberian goalkeeper from close range.

Asamoah Gyan took over from Samuel Kyere in the 70th minute and soon after that Joe Tagoe was stretchered out to be replaced by Imoro Lukeman.

The Liberians who remained under siege for the latter stages of the match nearly drew level on 90minutes when they played a one-two in the Meteors' box but Buston Browne failed the connect the final ball.

Before kick off, there was a minute's silence in memory of Mac Vivien Foe, the Cameroonian player who slumped and died during a Confederation Cup match against Columbia in France on Thursday.