Afraine Satisfied With Performance...

...and boasts, I'll take Stars To World Cup, If...

Emmanuel Kwasi Afranie, caretaker coach of the senior national team, Black Stars has expressed his satisfaction with the output of his team but agreed there is some work to be done before it peaks.

The Stars recovered from a goal down to beat their Rwandan counterparts by 4-2 to move to the top of their group on goal difference ahead of Uganda in the qualifying series of the next African Cup of Nations scheduled for Tunisia.

The coach said the Rwandans played very well especially in the fist half and even though they took an early lead he knew that his team would definitely recover and carry the day.

"We should not forget that they are also playing their first match and a good result for them would inevitably determine their qualification.

"The first half was quite frustrating as they massed up in the middle and did not allow us to play our usual game."

Coach Afranie said the performance of referee Pare Lassina from Burkina Faso left much to be desired as some bizarre decisions he took unsettled his boys.

He said his defence played very well even though momentary lapse in concentration caused their first goal and the second could not be blamed on Joe Hendrick after he had clearly won the ball and did not bring the player down to warrant the penalty.

Coach Afranie said the future of the team is very bright and hopes to build on their performance in subsequent matches.

Desire Mbonabuaya, skipper of the Rwandan team was also happy with the performance of his team even though they could not hold unto their early lead.

He said most of the players in the team are inexperienced and for them to come to Accra to take on the Stars the way they did gives him hope that their chances of qualifying to the next African Cup of Nations are bright.

Mbonabuaya who plays in Belgium for Saint Troden attributed their performance to their new Yugoslavian coach who took over the team just two months ago.

He said the return leg against the Stars in Rwanda would not be easy as the Ghanaians have a lot of experienced foreign-based players who can tilt the scale at any time.

Afranie ? I?ll take Stars to World Cup if..

Coach Emmanuel Kwasi Afranie has declared that he will be the man to qualify the Black Stars to their inaugural World Cup in Germany come 2006.

The only condition attached to this ambitious dream by the Stars stop-gap coach is job security to enable him to fully concentrate on the huge task ahead.

According to coach Afranie, qualification to the World Cup requires long term planning which can only be possible unless the Ghana Football Association (GFA) entrusts the fortunes of the team in his hands permanently.

Disclosing this to the Graphic Sports in a post-match interview after Ghana's vital 4-2 victory over Rwanda at the Accra Stadium last Sunday, the Stars helmsman assured that the new-look team will answer the roll-call at CAN 2004.

"Now that we are on top of the group, there is no turning back and we will work harder to win the two remaining matches to ensure qualification", he emphasised.

Contrary to general impressions that the Stars performance was not vintage as expected, Coach Afranie was quite satisfied with the team's output especially with just two weeks of preparations for the match.

"The performance was okay in the circumstance as Rwanda is a strong side. You know, a team with a strong bench is not likely to lose. I least expected the team to concede an early goal, but I was particularly happy about the recovery rate of the boys and the way they maintained their composure in the face of that early setback", the Stars coach revealed.

He spoke highly of mercurial Charles Taylor for his excellent display which was crowned with a great goal in the 57th minute.

"I psyched him up not to be overawed by the occasion but be himself and play his normal game and he responded positively to make everybody proud. I think he was the man of the match", he remarked. However, the Chairman of the Ghana Football Association (GFA), Mr. Ben Koufie, had a different opinion about the match.

In an interview at the Stars dressing room after the match, Mr. Koufie described the performance of the Ghanaian team as ?below expectation?.

According to him, the Rwandans were ordinary and that they appeared to be a good side simply because the Stars did not live up to expectation.

He, however, commended the players for the important victory and urged them to remain committed to the national cause.

He noted that since no decision had yet been taken on the next long-term coach for the Stars, the FA would continue to offer coach Afranie the necessary support to continue with the team in the interim.

For Taylor who took over the captaincy of the Stars in the last 30 minutes of the game following Augustine Ahinful's substitution, Sunday was a memorable occasion as his beautiful goal struck from the edge of the box turned the tide in favour of his side.

In a chat, elated Taylor who was his usual calm self dedicated the victory to all Ghanaians and attributed the Stars showing to the high level of competition among the players for positions.

While requesting for an unflinching support from Ghanaians, Taylor noted that the inclusion of skipper Stephen Appiah will strengthen the team further for more exploits.