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Lyon defender and captain of the stars' John Mensah turned from hero to villain when after shooting the Black Stars ahead in the first half of their Nations Cup match against debutants Botswana in Franceville, Gabon, received his marching off orders in the 66th minute for a professional foul, leaving Ghana to play the last quarter of the match with ten men. The Black Stars controlled possession from the beginning but their first attempt at goal came from a set piece in the fourth minute; Sulley Muntari�s in-swinging free kick found Asamoah Gyan at the far post but his header was well off target. Botswana�s Patrick Motsepe found himself with some shooting space at the other end two minutes later but he blasted his shot over the crossbar. From then on it was all Ghana as the Zebras kept a lot of men behind the ball and although the Ghanaians tried to shoot from range the defenders were willing to throw their bodies on the line. Ghana were able to find the opening goal in the 25th minute from a dead ball situation when an in-swinging corner missed Gyan�s head at the near post but the ball fell kindly for the unmarked John Mensah to bundle it in with his knee. The younger of the Ayew brothers, Jonathan, had a quiet first half but he did initiate a quick give-and-go which saw him trying to place a curled shot at the top right corner, but goalkeeper Modiri Marumo spotted the danger and plucked the ball in the air. Gyan had another half-chance four minutes before the break when he beat his marker for pace on the right edge of the box, but his powerful shot lacked the direction and flew off target. The Zebras went on a rare attack seven minutes after the break and were almost rewarded when Patrick Motsepe headed the ball across from the far post but John Boye was able to clear off the line with Jerome Ramatlhakwane waiting to score behind him. Four minutes later Muntari�s through-pass found Andre Ayew on the edge of the area and his first touch took him away from the defender but when he fired his shot Mosimanegape Ramoshibidu stretched himself to put in a crucial block. Ghana were caught on the break in the 66th minute when a clearance by Phenyo Mongala was flicked behind by Ghanaian midfielder Anthony Annan, but the ball fell into the path of Jerome Ramatlhkwane. Lyon defender and captain of the stars' John Mensah then performed a Luis Suarez impression by cynically preventing an equaliser by fouling Jerome Ramatlhakwana in his attempt to rectify the mistake made by Anthony Annan. Jerome had a clear goal-scoring opportunity but Mensah sacrificed himself for the team by committing his foul outside the box. All Botswana got was a freekick. And Mensah's plan worked perfectly just as Luis Suarez's did for Uruguay in that infamous World Cup semi-final. Mogakolodi Ngele stepped up to take the free kick and although he struck the ball well his effort was deflected by the wall. Sensing that they had a chance against ten men, Botswana started to commit more men forward and came close to getting the equaliser when Mongala turned his marker on the left flank before delivering a dangerous in-swinging cross, but Adam Kwarasey was able to punch the ball into safety. Ghana came close to burying the game in the third minute of added time when Gyan set the ball up for Annan, but his volleyed shot went wide of goal, while Gyan was also denied by a good save from Marumo a minute later. It was not a convincing victory for Ghana in terms of the score line and they will have to improve to turn their possession into goals in future matches. Ghana�s starting line-up: Adam Kwarasey, John Paintsil, Samuel Inkoom, John Boye, John Mensah, Anthony Annan, Jordan Ayew(Massawudu Alhassan), Emmanuel Agyemang Badu, Asamoah Gyan, Andre Ayew(Mohammed Abu) and Sulley Muntari(Jonathan Mensah). Bench: Daniel Agyei, Ernest Sowah, Daniel Opare, Massawudu Alhassan, Isaac Vorsah (suspended), Lee Addy, Jonathan Mensah, Mohammed Abu, Charles Takyi, Kwadwo Asamoah, Derek Boateng and Prince Tagoe. Coach: Goran Stevanovic.