Black Stars coach Charles Akonnor is disappointed with the performance of some ‘makeshift’ players who started against South Africa in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match on Monday.
Akonnor’s side were beaten 1-0 and that leaves them a point behind South Africa who have taken control of Group G.
Akonnor was forced to make changes to the team that beat Ethiopia because a number of his key European players returned to their clubs, as South Africa is one of the countries on the red-list of travel restrictions imposed by the likes of England, France and Germany.
Jordan Ayew, Jeffrey Schlupp, Daniel Amartey, Baba Rahman, Andy Yiadom, Kamaldeen Sulemana, who all played against Ethiopia last Friday, did not travel to Johannesburg.
In their absence, Akonnor handed opportunities to Hearts of Oak right-back Fatawu Mohammed, midfielder Majeed Ashimeru, Yaw Yeboah, Joel Fameyeh, Gideon Mensah and experienced central defender Jonathan Mensah.
“We have given a few guys a chance a couple of times and today I must say I was a little bit disappointed even though I don’t want to be hard on them since I still need them. Those who were given the chance didn’t take it and it somehow affected the flow of play in how we wanted to play. We didn’t do well in the second half after being in control in the first half, so I am disappointed. The way forward is to try and win the next two matches against Zimbabwe,” Akonnor said.
Black Stars next matches in the qualifiers are scheduled for early October. They will play Zimbabwe at home and in Harare.
Source: 3news.com|Ghana