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With each goal Ghana scored, the fans broke through the stadium security to join the Ghanaian players to celebrate on the pitch. It wasn’t one. It wasn’t two. It wasn’t three. It was four. Four good goals against Nigeria, a team the Black Stars hadn’t beaten in 15 years.
Laryea Kingston went first, breaking the deadlock with a low, long-range shot. Sulley Muntari made it 2-0 with a net-busting shot before Junior Agogo added a third from a tap-in.
The Super Eagles managed to pull one back, thanks to an expertly converted penalty from Taye Taiwo, but any hope of a comeback was killed when substitute Joe Tex Frimpong added Ghana’s fourth goal.
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In the end, a 4-1 scoreline was probably the least the Black Stars deserved after such a dominant performance. For 15 years, Ghana played second fiddle to their West African rivals. And for a fixture that is heralded as one of the fiercest in world football, a one-sided affair was unbefitting.
However, when the Black Stars finally stood up to the ‘enemy’, they unpacked all the years of hurt and heartbreak, translating it into goals that left Nigeria both shaken and astounded.
Ghana may have won the first-ever Jollof Derby – as this historic fixture has come to be known – but between the 1990s and early 2000s, Nigeria had more joy playing against the Black Stars.
A 2-1 win in the 1992 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Senegal signalled the last time Ghana beat Nigeria in that decade. The next eight matches between the two teams would see the Super Eagles pick up five wins, with the other three ending in draws.
Such dominance on the part of Nigeria obviously made several Ghanaians jealous, especially with the Super Eagles beating Ghana in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers and knocking them out of the AFCON that same year – a tournament that was jointly-hosted by the West African rivals.
Even worse for Ghana, they were beaten again by Nigeria during the 2006 AFCON, which condemned the Black Stars to a group stage exit. But after living in the shadows of their rivals for so long, Ghana finally broke free, thanks to a golden generation of talents.
Having excelled at their debut World Cup in 2006, where Ghana reached the round of 16, the Black Stars elevated their status in the process, becoming one of the best teams in the world.
The likes of Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, Asamoah Gyan, Stephen Appiah, Laryea Kingston, John Mensah, Hans Adu Sarpei and John Paintsil were all playing top-level football and formed the core of a youthful team that was hungry for success.
By the time the Black Stars faced Nigeria again, this time in an international friendly in Brentford in 2007, they were a completely different proposition. They boasted better players, had an astute coach in Claude Le Roy and had the temperament needed to compete at the highest level.
Nigeria may have underestimated their rivals but the consequence was tha, they did not only lose their 15 years of invincibility against the Black Stars, but were also taught a footballing lesson after being ripped apart.
Ghana painted the Griffen Park with its national colours of red, gold and green by putting Nigeria to the sword with a completely dominant performance that they never saw coming.
The first half of the game produced no goals and, in truth, chances were few and far between. However, Ghana turned on the heat in the second half with their superior talent.
The midfield quartet of Appiah, Laryea, Essien and Muntari was too much for the Super Eagles to handle, as they run riots, forcing Nigeria to retreat into their own half for much of the second half. That 4-1 thrashing would be the beginning of a power shift and the start of Ghana’s dominance in the Jollof derby.
Since losing to Nigeria in 2006, the Black Stars have faced the Super Eagles four times and never lost. Instead, they’ve won thrice in that period, including beating Nigeria in the quarter-finals of AFCON 2008 and 2010.
For 15 years, Ghana had to contend with watching Nigeria outshine them in the Jollof Derby, but the Black Stars have since turned things around and it’s been 16 good years since they lost to the Super Eagles.