On this day 11 September 2007(Exactly 13 years ago today) Saudi Arabia thrashed Ghana 5-0 in a friendly international match at the King Fahad Stadium in Riyadh.
Despite the fact that they were missing Stephen Appiah, the Black stars fielded a strong side and a mistake from captain Michael Essien in the fifth minute allowed one of the stars of the Asian Cup Yasser Al Qahtani to open the scoring for the the AFC Asian Cup 2007 runners-up.
Saud Kearairi scored the second goal in the 25th minute. Three second half goals – from Yasser Al-Qahtani and two penalties taken by Saad Al-harthi(57′) and Redha Tukar Fallatah (92′) added to Ghana’s woes.
This was Ghana’s worst defeat since the infamous “Bochum Massacre”, ( 6-1 defeat to Germany in 1993)
Ghana Line-up: Richard Kingson, John Paintsil, Hans Adu Sarpei/Nana Akwasi Asare, Francis Dickoh/Junior Agogo, Eric Addo/Ahmed Barusso, Michael Essien, Laryea Kingson/Andre Ayew, Anthony Annan, Matthew Amoah/Prince Tagoe, Sulley Ali Muntari.
Elsewhere;
On this day 11 September 2007 (Exactly 13 years ago today)The newly elected executive officers of the Ghana League Clubs Association (GHALCA) were sworn into office to officially assume their respective roles .
The ceremony, which came off at the premises of the Ghana Football Association (GFA) saw the Chairman of the out-going administration, Mr Joseph Yaw Appiah handing over to the new Chairman – elect, Mr Emmanuel Adotey.
In his handing over message, Mr Appiah, who had been at the helm of the Clubs’ umbrella body for eleven years, charged the new Executives to be fair and firm as they seek to push the Association to another level.
Mr Appiah thanked all for supporting him during his tenure, which brought about some transformation in the administration of football on the local scene and expressed optimism that GHALCA will enjoy a positive lease of life under the new leadership.
Mr Adotey who was also the Chairman of relegated premiership outfit, Power FC, appealed for support from all within the football fraternity to promote the aims and objectives of the association. “Our goals can be realized if we bury our differences and come together for the common purpose of attaining development of the clubs.”
He added that the executives are ready to collaborate with the various stakeholders such as the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, National Sports Council, Professional League Board, Referees Association of Ghana, Ghana Olympic Committee, Sports Writers Association of Ghana and the GFA to make the right choices and decisions in favour of the Clubs.
Lawyer Farouk Seidu swore the Executives into office. Other members of the Executives are Kwame Ntow Fianko (Vice – Chairman), Neil Armstrong Mortagbe (Treasurer), Kwame Baah Nuako and Ashford Tettey Oku – Premier League Reps, John Frederick Mensah, Division One Rep. and Geoffrey Oteng Arthur, Division Two Rep.
On this day 11 September 1999 (Exactly 21 years ago today) Serena Williams went from great to legendary, beating four Grand Slam champions in a row to win her own first Grand Slam title at the US Open.
The kid sister turned out to be the real champ.
Serena Williams finished the job that big sister Venus couldn’t, beating Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to capture the U.S. Open title at in only her second year as a professional.
As graceful and quick as a gymnast, the powerfully built Williams put on a spectacular display of mature tennis with an all-court attack to become the first black woman to win a Grand Slam title since Althea Gibson in 1958.
It’s just too exciting to compute right now,” Williams said.
“It’s really amazing for me to even have an opportunity to be compared to a player as great as Althea Gibson. One of her best friends told me she wanted to see another African American win a slam before her time is up. I’m so excited I had a chance to accomplish that while she’s still alive.”
It was equally meaningful to Williams that her victory came in Arthur Ashe Stadium, named after the 1968 U.S. Open champion and the last black American to win a major — Wimbledon in 1975.
Moments later, Williams received a congratulatory phone call from President Clinton and daughter Chelsea from New Zealand.
“I thought for sure my day couldn’t get any better,” Williams said. “The next thing they told me is the president of the United States wanted to talk. I was, like, wow.”
Venus Williams had her shots at Hingis, but lost to her at 17 in the 1997 U.S. Open final and in an exhausting semifinal that left her quivering with cramps two days earlier.
“Venus was so bummed,” Serena said. “She felt so bad because her legs had totally given out. She was really down, and that encouraged me to be even tougher out there.”
She wasn’t a longshot for the title by any means. She was just 17 years old, but she was already the No.6-ranked player in the world, having picked up the first three titles of her career earlier in the year at Paris, Indian Wells and Los Angeles. And the Los Angeles title came right before the US Open.
But the draw wasn’t that kind. Not only did she have four straight Grand Slam champions in her path from the fourth round on, but even before all of that, one of her toughest future rivals – and a future Grand Slam champion – pushed her to her limits in the third round. Serena had to fight back from 5-3 down in the third set to survive an inspired Kim Clijsters to reach the second week, 4-6 6-2 7-5.
And then came the parade of major winners. Serena rallied to beat No.16 seed Conchita Martinez, 4-6 6-2 6-2, then her idol – No.4 seed Monica Seles – in an electric night match, 4-6 6-3 6-2, and then the No.2 seed and new Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals, 6-4 1-6 6-4.
The No.7-seeded Serena then beat No.1 seed Martina Hingis for the championship, 6-3 7-6(4).
She would wait nearly three years before winning her next one at the 2002 French Open, but the floodgates opened from there and now she’s got 23 of them, one more than Steffi Graf’s previous Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles and one shy of Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
And it all started on this day in 1999 with her fairytale run in New York.
By: George ‘Alan Green’ Mahamah
