(From William Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent in Luanda, Angola, courtesy Ministry of Youth and Sports)

Luanda, Angola, Jan. 26, GNA - The leading striker of Ghana's Black Stars at the ongoing Orange Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, Asamoah Gyan has admitted that they will be confronted with a more difficult task against Nigeria in the semi-finals of the competition but stated that they are up to the task.

At a pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Gyan said playing against Nigeria has always come with a lot of challenges due to the age-long rivalry between the two sides, but noted that the Stars stand a better chance of making progress to the finals.

Gyan who fetched Ghana's lone goal victory against Angola said even though football is unpredictable, the level of confidence in camp after winning two matches gives him enough conviction that the Stars are on the verge of advancing to the finals.

"I know they will come into the game with a lot of determination because we defeated them in the last competition and they will try to use the match to avenge that defeat.

"But we are bent on winning the game because you can only win a competition by playing the best team at every stage.

"All we need to do is to stick by the directives of the coach and victory will be ours. We are hungry for honours and we will not leave any chance to realize our dreams.

Gyan, however, reckoned that they will go into the match with a relatively young and inexperienced team as compared to the Nigerians but stated that, they will play as a team and their strength is not based on individuals but team work.

"Don't forget we also have a very good coach and this will also make the difference on Thursday" Gyan stated.

On the game against Angola, Gyan said his gesture after scoring the lone goal was to signal to the partisan home crowd that he had silenced them.

"Before the match, the Angolans made a lot of wild speculations with regard to the score line. Some even predicted 5-0 against us and the gesture was to tell them that, it is not easy to beat Ghana by such a wide margin". Gyan joined the tall list of players who have criticized the nature of pitches for the competition, but was quick to add that, it will not affect their game plan.

"We have overcome those difficulties after three matches in the competition, and I don't think it is an excuse any more.

"After all, we are Africans even though most of us ply our trade in Europe, when we return home for holidays we play on more horrible pitches than this. So all we need to do is to manage the situation and take our chances in the game. 26 Jan. 10