Benjamin Kwofie scored Ghana's first goal in a major tournament in the 10^th minute and then had a second disallowed as the ball was ruled to have gone out of play in the build-up at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash Centre.

Duisberg Offei in the Ghanaian goal was formidable as he recorded eight saves from penalty corners, low drives, ricochets, and close-range efforts to be named player of the match.

The Ghanaians held their lead until the final seconds when Canada were awarded a penalty stroke after review.

They had already begun celebrating and the crowd let out an enormous roar but were left in disbelief as a block had been made with the body instead of a stick resulting in the referee pointing to the spot.

Keegan Pereira stepped up to spoil the party and finally managed to beat Offei in the Pool B clash.

"We were hoping to go to the last whistle," said world number 36 side Ghana’s Christopher Dogbe.

"We were excited, we were enjoying the game.

"It's very sad how the game ended.

"This is our first major tournament.

"This win would have been a great moment for us."

Prior to today's match, Ghana had had a torrent time at the tournament after shipping 17 goals in defeats to England and India.

"It's not easy for us, but we had to go to the fans who have been with us all tournament and cheer them up," said Dogbe.

"You know, it's a nice experience.

"It's a game of hockey too and every second counts and it's a lesson for us.

"We had the three points and it was a micro second."

Ghana are scheduled to play Wales in their next match here on Wednesday (August 3).