Cech saved Czechs from drubbing

Cologne: Ghana coach Ratomir Dujkovic said only an outstanding display from goalkeeper Petr Cech saved Czech Republic from a drubbing on Saturday.

"Petr Cech is an excellent keeper and he stopped it from being four or five-nil," Serb Dujkovic told reporters after Ghana's 2-0 win over the Czechs in Group E.

"It was a very tough game but my players played excellently. I was only surprised it wasn't more than 2-0.

"I think the strikers were sometimes a bit tired in front of goal," added the coach.

Asamoah Gyan, who opened the scoring after two minutes, said victory had left the way clear for Ghana to clinch their passage into the second round after the final group game against U.S. in Nuremberg on June 22.

"I think everything's open now," said Gyan. "The next game against the U.S. is very, very important.

"We made up for our mistakes (in the 2-0 defeat against Italy) and we showed we can produce a powerful performance. We were the better team today."

Czech coach Karel Brueckner said Gyan's early goal was a bad blow for his side.

"I don't blame the poor performance on absent morale or lack of effort," said Brueckner. "The first goal was detrimental to our intentions.

"The Ghanaian players were splendid in attack. I wouldn't say our players were tired, we couldn't use that as an excuse."