Ghana’s painful and regrettable loss to the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire means Ghana hasn’t won in seven international matches. Anyone who watched that match wouldn’t fail to conclude that Ghana should have done better. The Black Stars could have come away with at least a draw, if the right measures had been put in place by the ‘Captain of the Ship’-Milovan Rajavac.

Milo’s trusted young players let him down on the night. Opoku Agyemang who replaced Muntari on the left flank for instance, was not too efficient; it has to be said. Muntari was sorely missed and I’m sure Milo himself would have regretted his decision to drop him. Also, Dede Ayew, who played on the right flank, was simply ineffective. He couldn’t deliver a single cross throughout the period he was in the match. Inkoom was doing well until he allowed himself to be mesmerized, quite pathetically, by the delightful Kaita, who delivered the sublime cross that Drogba converted for the third goal. Though Inkoom has the phenomenal ability to overlap and place crosses into the box for our strikers, he has yet to prove himself defensively.

Our bane against Cote d’Ivoire was the coach, Milovan. He has proven to be incapable of handling the Black Stars, in my candid opinion. His 23-man selection to Angola 2010 was pathetic. His starting eleven against the Elephants was even more pathetic. The less said about assistant coach, Kwesi Appiah, the better. What is his role in the Black stars? Does he contribute to technical decisions? The difference between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire on the night was quality and experience; when Kader Kaita was brought on, for instance, it didn’t him two minutes to mesmerize Ghana’s defence and provide the cross that Drogba converted for the last goal; but Ghana had players who played for almost ninety minutes but couldn’t deliver a single cross into the Ivorian eighteen! Now, the question is, was this the best team we could have presented? When Ghana played Cote d’Ivoire in 2008, we had Quincy Owusu-Abeyie who was a torn in the flesh of the Ivorians; he persistently troubled their defence and eventually dribbled four of their defenders to score a magnificent equalizer when we were down 2-1. Why on earth was such a fantastic player, with all his experience and skill, left at home? Nobody can convince me that Opoku Agyemang is a better player than Quincy. In the absence of world class players like Muntari and Laryea Kingston, Quincy’s experience and rare skill would have been invaluable! Someone like Opoku Agyemang would have understudied him.

Ghana used to have serious problems with goal scoring until we discovered Agogo.

Agogo ended our goal scoring worries with his 0.5 goals per match ratio. He proved his goal scoring ability on numerous occasions. He scored three goals at Ghana 2008, including winning goals against top teams like Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire. He also scored a couple of goals in the world/nations cup qualifying process. Surprisingly, he was dropped by Milo. Sometimes you just don’t understand the coach; Derrick Boateng does very well for Getafe, week in week out, yet he isn’t regarded by Milo as good enough for the Stars. Against Cote d’Ivoire, Agogo would have done better than Amoah in a 4-5-1 formation. Amoah was totally powerless against the very tall, tough and ruthless Ivorian defenders. But Agogo would have matched them boot for boot, strength for strength. Again, how many times will we tell Milo that, the Black Stars have a traditional pattern of play which is neither 4-5-1 nor 4-2-1-2-1. Our pattern has always been 4-4-2. We never perform when we play any other formation apart from that. Milo has been in charge of the team for about a year now, and should know better. By now, Milo should have transformed the Black Stars into a fearsome side that would perpetually combine brute power, thoroughbred athleticism, and an irrepressible fighting spirit to win all matches that come their way. The Black Stars under Claude Le Roy used to play fluid-free-flowing attacking football just like Brazil; but under Milo, they are playing like ‘Bolgatanga Iron Breakers’. Needless to say, the coach is not justifying the thousands of dollars Ghanaians continually pay him to coach the team. Against Cote d’Ivoire, he got it totally wrong. If Lee Arday and Hans Adu Sarpei aren’t good enough to play at left back for the Black Stars, why were they invited to join the team? Milo could have started with a typical 4-4-2, playing Amoah (9) and Asamoah Gyan (10) in attack, Kodwo Asamoah in Muntari’s position (11), Rahim Ayew or Dramani on the right flank (7), Essien in Offensive mid-field (8), and Agyemang Badu in defensive mid-field (6). In defence, Lee Arday, Inkoom, Eric Addo, and Isaac Vorsah would have completed a line-up that would have sent Cote d’Ivoire packing home.

The Black Stars are on the verge of another embarrassing Nations Cup exit; only a win against Burkina Faso will guarantee them a place in the quarter-final. Ghana hasn’t won in their last seven matches and it will require extra-ordinary play against Burkina-Faso for us to qualify. I’m a bit apprehensive, considering the fact that we were faced with a similar situation in 2006 and we failed to qualify; we only needed to draw against Zimbabwe, but we were defeated 2-1 and thrown out of the competition. I pray the same thing doesn’t happen this time around. It will be too harsh on Ghanaians; we pay the players, coach, and officials of the G.F.A, thousands of dollars to win matches. We motivate, support, and pray for them; and we must get good value for our money and efforts. With players like Essien, Asamoah Gyan, and Kodwo Asamoah fit to play, we must beat Burkina to qualify; this is non-negotiable. It’s been 28 years since we last won the Nations Cup; we must awake from our slumber and go all out to win the cup.

Below is how I rate each player’s performance against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire. Rating is over 10. 1. Richard Kingson: 5- He was a shadow of his former self. Lack of action at Wigan Athletic has made him rusty and unconfident. His reflexes are not as sharp as they were a couple of years ago. He could have done better with Tiene’s free kick; his inability to keep that ball out cost us the game. At one nil, there was always a way back; but at 2-0, there was hardly a way back; not against Cote d’Ivoire. 2. Inkoom: 6.5- One of the brightest players for the Stars on the night. He made good runs down the right flank and delivered a couple crosses into the box. He however needs to work extra hard on his defence. He could have done well to prevent kader Kaita from dribbling him and delivering the cross that led to the Elephants’ third goal. 3. Rahim Ayew: 6- The coach had no business playing him at left back. He put up a brave performance but it wasn’t good enough to prevent the first goal from ending up in the back of the net. He however showed lots of promise each time he went forward. He even forced a brilliant save from the Ivorian goal keeper, an incontrovertible indication that he is better as an offensive player than a defensive one. 4. Eric Addo: 6- He was technically good; however, he could have done better to organise his backline considering the fact that he was one of the most experienced players on the pitch. The first and last goals were preventable, to say the least. 5. Isaac Vorsah: 7- He was a revelation in that match; he handled Drogba effectively, giving the Chelsea danger man little room to operate. He did very well to dispossess Drogba in the first half when the latter was running dangerously towards goal. Vorsah was one of our best performers on the night. 6. Agyemang Badu: 7- The ‘Satellite’ held his own against established players like Zokora and Yaya Toure. He was one of our best performers on the night. He won numerous balls in mid-field and did very well to link defence with attack. Milo must have been very pleased with his performance. 7. Musa Narry: 6- He did well defensively and made a couple of good passes, even though he was subdued in mid-field by Zokora and Yaya Toure. 8. Dede Ayew: 4.5- His best wasn’t good enough. He lacked the ability to hold the ball against the well drilled Ivorian defenders. He failed to deliver a single cross into the box, despite playing as a winger. His confidence would have taken a severe knock. 9. Kodwo Asamoah: 7.5- Probably Ghana’s best performer on the night. Two heroic saves by Barry prevented him from scoring. He initiated Ghana’s best attacking moves and was a delight to watch. A perfect replacement for the mercurial Stephen Appiah. 10. Opoku Agyemang: 5.5- He fought very hard and caused Eboue’s sending-off. However, he failed to live up to expectation. His numerous runs down the left flank produced fruitless results. He couldn’t provide a single cross into the box, despite playing as a winger. Milo wouldn’t have been pleased with his performance. 11. Matthew Amoah: 6- He did his best; unlucky to have struck the post in the first half. He played as a lone striker in a 4-5-1 formation and faced lots of difficulties. Substitutes: Essien: 6.5- Though he wasn’t fully fit, he brought some sanity into the Black Stars mid-field. He held the ball well and fed his team mates with delightful passes. His fitness would be crucial if the Black Stars are to progress to the next stage of the competition. Asamoah Gyan: 6- He made positive advances throughout the forty-five minutes that he was on the pitch. He did very well to get round the Ivorian defender for the stoppage time penalty. He showed good composure to convert that penalty. Afful: 3- He came on late in the game and couldn’t do anything to turn the tide in Ghana’s favour.

Coach Milovan: 2- His poor selection and tactics led to his team’s down fall. He has gone seven games now without a win in spite of the quality players he has at his disposal. He has yet to convince Ghanaians that he is capable of handling the Black Stars; how will he justify his decision to bring on Harrison Afful in the dying minutes of the Ivory Coast game when we urgently needed a goal? He’s definitely not the best man to lead Ghana to the World Cup in 2010.

I conclude by wishing the Black Stars and Milovan Rajavac the best in their final show-down against Burkina Faso.

Samuel K. Obour samuelkwason@yahoo.com