Ghana: Chris Hughton's frustration
Ghana head coach Chris Hughton is still not reassured by the attacking quality of his side.
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The Black Stars boss, Chris Hughton, was not happy with his side's goalless draw against Madagascar. His players were silent in this 5th round of 2023 AFCON qualifiers in Antananarivo. Despite the star-studded line-up fielded by Hughton, the Black Stars could not break down the Barea. The culprit? The pitch at the Mahamasina Municipal Stadium, which was almost unplayable.
The Ghanaians struggled to hold on to the ball and build their play. And yet Hughton's players were one win away from securing a place at Côte d'Ivoire 2023. But they failed to find the back of the net. Many observers described it as a disappointing performance, including their head coach Chris Hughton. "We are very disappointed. We came here (to Madagascar) with an attitude and a mindset to win. But to win any football match, you have to score goals and we found that difficult", said the former Newcastle manager. And that is not the only explanation for the Black Stars' draw. What else did Hughton say? "The pitch is difficult. A very uneven pitch, but it's the same for both teams... the fact that we didn't score is the most disappointing thing", he continued.
"If we don't win our last match"
With nine points in Group E, Ghana are virtually qualified, with Angola (2nd, 8 points) and the Central African Republic (3rd, 7 points) set to fight it out for the last spot. While Hughton admitted the team's inability to create chances and to finish them, he understandably voiced concerns ahead of the final matchday, where anything can happen against Central African Republic on 4 September. "Our approach for the next match is to win. We are playing at home. We know we have to get a result. Obviously, it's a game where we know the consequences if we don't win", he warned.
Jim CEESAY