Gutsy Australia hold Ghana to 1-1 draw

RUSTENBURG - Ten-man Australia produced a gutsy performance Saturday to hold fancied Ghana to a 1-1 draw and keep alive their chances of qualifying for the knock-out stage of the football World Cup.

The Socceroos took an early lead through Brett Holman, but then conceded the equalizer through a penalty and had to play most of the match with 10 men after Harry Kewell used his arm to stop a Ghana shot from ending in a goal.

Ghana could not profit from their one-man advantage during the second half. Instead, it was the Australians who came closest to scoring the winner on several occasions.

The result puts Ghana top of Group D with four points, one more than Germany and Serbia. Australia have only one point but are not out yet.