The Golden Eagles of Russia beat the Black Stars of Ghana by a goal to nil at the Lokomotiv Stadium.
Russia dominated play in the first 20 minutes of the game, and deservedly went ahead after FC Krasnodar forward, Fedor Smolov, put the ball at the back of the net after hitting a shot in between the legs of Ghana goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey.
Ghana, after conceding the goal, came back very strongly as winger, Christian Atsu curly rattled the crossbar after Russia goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev was left clueless.
Ghana should have equalized in the 44th minute, but Harrison Afful’s shot missed the goal post by inches, ending the first half with a positive response.
The early part of the second half saw combative midfielder, Agyemang Badu replacing Thomas Partey, as the Black Stars were very dominant in the midfield area, but final delivery was very poor.
Russia would have extended their lead in the 70th minute when goalkeeper, Kwarasey, misjudged an air ball which was cleared off the line by Ghana defender, John Boye.
A very bad clearance from John Boye saw a counter attack by the Russian side from which striker, Igor Akinfeev’s sliding shot was cleared by Boye to his own relief.
Coach Avram Grant introduced Alfred Duncan and David Accam with about 15 minutes to end the game, which saw relentless pressure being mounted on the Russian defense. A fantastic cross by Baba Rahman was struck very well by Christian Astu but the Russia goalkeeper came to the rescue.
The four minutes added by the Referee was not enough to stage a come back for the Black Stars of Ghana as the lost match in a very fascinating game.
Match Report: Russia Pip Ghana In Friendly (Photos)
