Accra goes dead as Black Stars draw

Accra, the commercial capital of the country went dead after Monday's barren 0-0 match between the youthful Black Stars and the Atlas Lions of Morocco in their group B match played in the Malian city of Segou.

Few patches of enthusiastic soccer fans gathered in front of their houses and workers joined in the debate at lorry stations on the performance of the inexperienced Black Stars.

The Stars, mostly graduates of the last under-20 World Youth Championship lacked the killing instinct when it mattered most and this was manifested on the stroke of full time when substitute Techie Mensah fired off target with only the Moroccan goalkeeper to beat.

A cross-section of Ghanaians later in the evening during a TV sports programme called for the inclusion of Ghana's goalking Ishmael Addo and his Hearts of Oak's team-mate Emmanuel Osei Kuffour in their next match against South Africa on Thursday.

A lot more fans were not bothered, for they had predicted, even before the tournament started in Mali, that the right calibre of players had not been called to camp.

Kwame Nsiah, a second year student of the University of Ghana said Ghanaians must stop blaming the boys for their lacklustre performance, "they were only reproducing what they had rehearsed".

A group of young men at Banana Inn, in Accra, gathered in front of a newspaper vendor to debate the match. They lampooned the veteran coach Fred Osam Duodu for his match strategy and selection.

They were of the view that if players like Dereck Boateng, Ishmael Addo and Osei Kuffour had been part of Monday's game, they could have converted at least one of the numerous chances that were squandered.

The BBC on Tuesday morning, described the Ghana-Morocco match as the worst in the four-day old tournament scheduled to end in February 10 and tipped minnows Burkina Faso and South Africa to qualify from the group.

GNA has also gathered that most Ghanaians are no longer enthused about the Black Stars against the backdrop that the team was being groomed for the 2006 World Cup.

CAF said last Thursday it would use the Cup of Nations to select Africa’s candidates that would represent Africa in the World Cup, beginning in 2006. Ghana-South Africa second group match is schedule to kick off at 1600 GMT on Thursday.

Ghana draws with Morocco

Ghana's Black Stars started their campaign at the 23rd African Cup of Nations at the Amary Daou Stadium with a barren draw against the Atlas Lions of Morocco.

The Stars had the best chance of the game on the 90th minute when Alex Techie Mensah sneaked through the Moroccan off side trap and came face to face with the goalkeeper but shot wide.

Though the Ghanaians appeared to have more possession, it was the Moroccans who brought out the best of Ghana’s goalie Sammy Adjei as he had to pull out a couple of dramatic saves to save his side.

In the 24th minute Adjei was alert enough to stop a point-blank shot from Zarouali Hicham while the Black Stars barely survived when the Moroccans caught them on the counter on three occasions during the last ten minutes of the first half.

Michael Essien, Emmanuel Duah, Baffour Djan and Isaac Boakye all took turns to shoot over the bar in desperation, denying the Moroccan goalkeeper Roumani Akran a real taste of the action

Princeton Owusu Ansah who was playing at an unusual left back position was visibly uncomfortable and coach Osam Duodu pulled him out for George Blay in the 51st minute.

Soon after the substitution, Safri Youssef powered a header into the hands of Sammy Adjei who pumped the ball upfront, creating a chance for Boakye. But the striker failed to connect.

The Stars tried on many occasions but could not provide the final pass that would have wrecked the Moroccans as Nurudeen Naybet and Fahmi Abdellah remained attentive and blocked the opening at the rear.

In the 76th minute Samuel Osei Kuffour set the stadium agog with a superlative performance when he thwarted a Moroccan counter attack and turned two attackers inside out before clearing his line.

In the last seven minutes there was a catalogue of misses by the Ghanaians as Duah shot wide and Techie Mensah froze at the best opportunity of the match.

Coach Osam Duodu attributed the draw to the slow pace of the Stars build up and promised to address it before the next match. He said there were many wasted chances because his boys lost concentration while in the box of their opponents.

He assured Ghanaians that the Stars would survive the group stage and enter the quarterfinals. “The group is wide open as everybody is on one point. We are just starting and I believe the best is yet to come from my team,” the coach added.