A Former Director of the National Sports College, Dominic Asabia has expressed disappointment with the performance of the senior national team the Blacks in their opener against Cape Verde in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations (AFCOn) in La Cote D’Ivoire.
According to Mr. Asabia, the Black Stars appeared complacent and showed no sign of urgency in the match.
“The Cape Verde people had an agenda. They took the match against Ghana very seriously because they had an image to protect when they beat Ghana. So they had something in their minds – self-motivation – that if they beat Ghana, they are proud. But as for our team, we took things for granted,” he stated in an interview on State of Our Nation.
“We thought that they were just pushovers and that beating Cape Verde has nothing to enhance their image as footballer. So this was the attitude of the team going into the game that affected the outcome. The eagerness to possess, the eagerness to score a goal was what was missing. As if they were playing against their girlfriends”.
He said while the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde were thirsty for a win, Chris Houghton’s men took them for granted and kept the ball in their defence area, giving the Blue Sharks an upper hand.
Mr. Asabia argued that the team’s failure to keep the ball away from their defence area resulted in avoidable blunders on their part and ultimately, led to their defeat.
“As a player, you don’t keep the ball for long in your defence area or in your danger zone. At this match, you don’t play football towards your goalkeeper because anytime you make a mistake, they are likely to capitalize on it and score. And you saw several mistakes like that”.
Many football lovers in Ghana have been left disappointed after the national men’s football team lost their opening match to Carpe Verde.
The Black Stars had a poor showing at the beginning of the match, conceding at the 17th minute.
They, however, got back on their feet, scoring two goals but the first one was ruled out over an offside.
Their opponents, however, continued to press on and in the dying moments of the game, found the back of the net again and ultimately, defeating the Black Stars with two goals against 1.
Ghana has two more matches to play at the Group stages and may progress to the next stage of the AFCON or be kicked out depending on their performance.
But for Mr. Asabia, there is no commitment from the team.
