Junior Agogo was the hero as his goal gave Ghana a 1-0 win over Namibia which put the hosts on the brink of African Nations Cup qualification.Nottingham Forest striker Agogo bundled home from close range in the 41st minute but Ghana struggled to impose themselves on their Group A opponents - who are knocked out as a result of the defeat - and could easily have conceded in the second half.

Ghana were widely expected to steam-roll a Namibian side that were thrashed 5-1 by Morocco in their opening game, but it was far from a walkover as Claude Le Roy's team largely flattered to deceive.

The first opening of note saw Namibia keeper Levis Swartbooi deny former Arsenal striker Quincy Owusu Abeyie at his far post via a smart stop with his feet.

Agogo then showed dancing feet to earn himself a yard of space before steering just wide, before Namibia broke and nearly silenced a partisan home crowd with a goal of their own.

A bright move concluded with Brian Brendall being fed in on the overlap but his angled drive drifted a yard or so wide.

As Ghana looked to respond Portsmouth's powerhouse Sulley Muntari headed just over the top, while Asamoah Gyan had an early contender for miss of the tournament when he contrived to lash over from no more than six yards.

With Ghana's big-name stars toiling without success it was left to League One's Agogo to break Namibia's resolve when he scruffily finished off Abeyie's low left-wing cross from a couple of yards.

Buoyed by their first-half exertions Namibia continued to impress after the interval and it was they that conjured the better of the opportunities.

The impressive Brendall curled a shot from the edge of the box just wide after a neat counter-attack, before Hamburg's Collin Benjamin's drive squirmed past a host of legs in a congested area, but also the far post.

At the other end, Ghana's attacking threat was quelled by some robust Namibian defending but at the game's conclusion it was the hosts that toasted another three-point haul.

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