A pacy and direct Ghanaian team deservedly became the first African nation to secure a victory at this World Cup finals, causing this famous rugby stadium to shake as John Pantsil ran around the perimiter at the close with a Ghanian flag.
Despite a commanding performance over a much fancied Serbia side in the group that will provide England's second round opposition if they qualify, Ghana needed a penalty five minutes from time against a Serbia side reduced to 10 men.
After the ball struck the hand of substitute Zdravko Kuzmanovic from a long cross, Asamoah Gyan capped a fine display by sending Vladimir Stojkovic the wrong way and gave the Black Stars the victory their performance deserved. In added time, the Rennes player could have doubled the lead but struck the inside of the post.
Throughout, the Black Stars made a better job than the White Eagles of casting off the weight of expectation and impressed with a pacy, upbeat opening performance.
But having dominated the match against a disappointing Serbia side who were reduced to 10 men for the last 15 minutes after their imposing centre back Aleksander Lukovic was sent off, it appeared as though their dominance would go unrewarded.
The lack of a cutting edge in front of goal that blighted an otherwise impressive run during the last World Cup in Germany threatened to do the same here.
There was pressure on both sides. For Ghana, the weight of expectation placed on all the continent's competing nations by not only their fans but organisers and politicians. For Serbia, the knowledge that they were playing their first World Cup as an independent state and the pressure of being tipped as so many pundits as their potential dark horses that they had virtually ceased to be so.
It was Ghana that handled it far better, with the pacy Dede Ayew raiding down the left, the powerful Prince Tagoe doing the same on the right and Gyan lithe and dangerous up front. The quick feet, clever passing and direct approach that Serbia captain Dejan Stankovic had warned his teammates about during the week was much in evidence.
Yet, for all their appeal and despite several near misses, Ghana failed to muster a shot that troubled Vladimir Sotjkovic in the first half.
The dynamic - Ghana attacking, Serbia fairly comfortable in defence - changed when Lukovic was sent off for an innocuous looking challenge after tangling with Gyan with just over 15 minutes to go.
He had been booked earlier for a foul on Asamoah, but the referee's card was only brandished a minute or so after the incident and so was missed by most in the Lotus Versfeld stadium.
For much of the match it had looked as though as though Ghana's pressure would go unrewarded.
Nemanda Vidij and Aleksander Lukovic were commanding for Serbia and for all their threat, Ghana failed to muster a shot on target in the first half.
Captain John Mensah came closest, heading over from an Asamoah cross when he clearly felt he should have done better. Two minutes later, Asamoah Gyan narrowly failed to connect with a sweet Kevin-Prince Boateng cross from the left.
In the second, the pattern continued with Ayew missing two chances and Gyan heading wide with Stojkovic beaten.
Milovan Rajevac, Ghana's Serbian manager, overcame his countrymen by taking the game to them. Stankovic failed to rally a Serbia side that looked stodgy in possession.
The vaunted attacking trio of Milos Krasic, Milan Jovanovic and Marko Pantelic were disappointing for Serbia. Their threat was largely restricted to set plays.
Pantelic looked petulant for much of the half while Krasic barely touched the ball. Yet for all Ghana's zest, particularly apparent in the play of the France-based pair Gyan and Ayew, they were unable to find the target.
Ironically, Serbia's best chances came following Lukovic's sending off and before Gyan's winner, when Krasic fired straight at Richard Kingson in the Ghana goal and Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic went close. But then came a deserved denouement that was celebrated not only within the Lotus Versefeld stadium but across the continent. Stephen Appiah, an icon to many of the Ghana fans within the stadium, who had entered the fray shortly before the sending off, joined in wild celebrations while the Serbian players sunk the turf knowing that an opening defeat in such a tough group leaves them with a mountain to climb.
© Guardian News and Media 2010
