Ghana's opening win at the African Cup of Nations on Tuesday against Botswana was a bittersweet moment for John Mensah.

The Ghana captain scored the decisive goal of the game at the Stade de Franceville to hand the Black Stars a 1-0 victory but failed to finish the game after being dismissed.

The winner, Mensah's debut Nations Cup goal and his second for the senior side has left the defender thrilled after he connected a corner taken by Emmanuel Agyemang Badu in the 24th minute.

"I'm happy we won with my goal. We had to win to boost our confidence," Mensah said after the Group D clash.

"I thank God for my first goal at the Nations Cup, unfortunately I also got a red card. But we have a good bench and so we have a lot of players who can replace me in the two games I will miss."

Mensah would now miss two games following his dismissal.