Ghana fans go from euphoria to heartbreak

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When it was over, at nearly midnight on a frozen winter night in Johannesburg, the 80,000 people at Soccer City - and hundreds of millions across Africa - were left exhausted and forlorn. They had gone from euphoria to heartbreak, not just once but repeatedly, in the final roller-coaster moments of the most dramatic match at the World Cup this year.

Ghana's Black Stars were within seconds of making history and becoming the most successful African team of all time, the first to reach the World Cup semi-finals. They were denied, with time expiring, in an extraordinary series of twists and turns - first by an illegal Uruguayan handball, then by a failed penalty shot that hit the crossbar, and finally by an error-strewn penalty sequence that left Uruguay the winner, 4-2 on penalty kicks.

As it so often seems to be in Africa, this was the stuff of legend and spectacle. The screaming crowd at Soccer City, nearly all Ghana supporters, was stunned and disbelieving when it ended with the Uruguayans celebrating and the Ghanaians in tears.

Ghana was robbed of victory as blatantly as any of the refereeing fiascos that have plagued this World Cup. In the final seconds of extra time, the match still knotted 1-1, a chaotic scramble in front of the Uruguay goal culminated in a header by Dominic Adiyiah that was crossing the goal-line when Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez deliberately and illegally batted it out with his hands. A red card was issued and a penalty kick was awarded, but Ghana's star forward, Asamoah Gyan, fired it off the crossbar, to the shock of his teammates and the Soccer City crowd.

The pressure on the Ghanaians Friday night was nearly unfathomable. Spurred on by the urgings of African leaders from Nelson Mandela on down, the Black Stars had the burden of expectation of a billion Africans upon them. "Our hopes, dreams and aspirations as a continent rest with the Black Stars," said the African National Congress, the party that liberated South Africa, in a plea for victory just hours before the match.

For 120 minutes, the Ghanaians had fought to fulfill those dreams. They were confronting an experienced Uruguay team that often seemed technically superior, led by the formidable snipers Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez. In the opening 20 minutes, the young Ghanaians appeared to be headed to inevitable defeat, outclassed by the talented team from South America.

With an average age of 24, the Black Stars were one of the youngest teams in the World Cup. The Uruguayans -16 places higher than Ghana in the world rankings - were heavily favoured to win, and they had earlier thrashed the host country, South Africa, in a 3-0 victory that essentially ended the hopes of the South Africans.

But as the match wore on, the Ghanaians overcame the pressures and jitters and began to compete fiercely. Their young players, with impressive pace and determination, were starting to beat the Uruguayans to the ball, leaving them scrambling to keep up.

With just moments remaining in the first half, Ghana was the first to score. Black Star midfielder Sulley Muntari fired a shot from nearly 40 metres away, surprising the off-guard Uruguayan goalkeeper, Fernando Muslera, and finding the corner of the net. The crowd at Soccer City erupted in joy.

In a thrilling second half, both sides pressed hard and the action was non-stop. It was Forlan who evened the score with a brilliant free kick that curled around the Ghana defenders and sailed into the top corner of the goal, beating the Ghana goalkeeper, Richard Kingson.

Both teams had plenty of chances to put the match away, but the most spectacular chances were those of Ghana in the bedlam of the final moments of extra time. Two shots beat the Uruguayan keeper, who was saved both times by Suarez, first legally and then illegally.

This left it to penalties to decide the outcome. John Mensah, the Ghanaian captain, was the first to falter, with a weak effort that was saved by Muslera. The audience, on their feet as the tension rose, must have assumed the match was over. But the drama continued when Uruguay's Maximiliano Pereira fired the ball over the crossbar on the next penalty, keeping Ghana alive and triggering a wild celebration at Soccer City.

It then came down to Adiyiah on the next penalty, but his shot was saved by Muslera. The winning goal was scored by Sebastian Abreu, who chipped the ball over Kingson, and the crowd tumbled from ecstasy to heartbreak again.