Gyan tops Ghana’s AFCON scorers
History bows at the feet of Ghana’s legendary captain Asamoah Gyan as once again, he felled another longstanding record. His diving strike on Saturday not only condemned Mali to a 1-0 defeat in the second Group D game but also made him Ghana’s all-time Nations Cup scorer with eight goals.
A cross from Jordan Ayew was met by the captain, sending the Stars into the quarterfinals for the sixth straight time since 2008. But it was Gyan’s day, as he now becomes the only player in African history to score in six consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
His first AFCON goal came in 2008, after which strikes followed in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015 and now, in 2017. But he has had to be patient for this goal. Injuries have blighted the forward’s career in the last two years, rendering him inconsistent for club and country. Indeed, he scored just once for Ghana in 2016, a very rare occurrence. His last goal was 587 days ago, against Mauritius.
His eight AFCON goals have come against a diverse array of opponents, but Mali is the only team that has tasted his goals twice. The rest, all receiving a goal each from the former Sunderland man, are Guinea, Angola, Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Niger and Algeria.
In addition to this feat, Asamoah is Ghana’s all-time top scorer with 49 goals and a half-century is likely to come should Ghana progress even further than the quarterfinals. But it was Gyan’s day, as he now becomes the only player in African history to score in six consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, together with Samuel Eto’o.
Culled from www.vanguardngr.com
