Quality of pitch raises concern at CAN

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

Luanda, Angola, Jan. 20, GNA - The quality of pitch at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola has been the concern of most of the participants at the competition.

For some of the participants the GNA Sports talked to, the quality of the pitch is just not up to standard and this is affecting their game plan and may also be attributed to some injuries and incidents in the competition.

Black Stars head coach Milovan Rajevic is the latest to have joined the list of participants who have criticized the quality of the pitches at the competition, saying the pitches are not good enough for such a high profile competition.

Coach Rajevic said the pitch is far from perfect and it makes playing difficult because of the bad nature.

The Serbian made similar comments when he addressed the press before the game against Burkina Faso on Tuesday, saying the quality of the pitch may also have contributed to the high number of injuries in the competition, especially on the part of his team. Ghana missed the services of four players in the first game against Cote D'Ivoire as a result of injuries during training sessions, with Michael Essien being the latest victim as his injury resurfaced at training last Sunday and this compelled him to end the competition prematurely.

Haminu Dramani, Hans Adu Sarpei and Asamoah Gyan were in full scale action last Tuesday when the Stars defeated Burkina Faso to advance to the next stage of the competition, whilst Annan remains on the sidelines.

Coach Rajevic was however quick to add that he will not want to associate the bad natures of the pitches with his first defeat as well as the performance of the team in the first game.

He said "Instead of complaining we have to concentrate on the task ahead and plan how to make the best out of the present situation". Didier Drogba, Cote D'Ivoire's top marksman also expressed similar concerns saying "the nature of the pitch is bad and makes playing a difficult task, but noted that "there is nothing we can about it.

"We have to manage the situation and do our best in the circumstances that we find ourselves as the competition progresses". The striker stated.

Vahid Halilhodzic, head coach of Cote D'Ivoire also expressed similar concerns in the pre and post press conferences of the game against Ghana's Black Stars, as he said the bad nature of the pitch at the Estadio Nacionale Do Chaizi in Cabinda hampered their game plan. He said the soggy nature of the pitch made ball control and execution of set pieces difficult assignments for them as they had to struggle at every moment to carry out their game plan adding, however that they were still prepared to stay on in Cabinda.

A visit to the 11th November Sports Stadium in Luanda by the GNA Sports indicates dry patches on the pitch with some patches remaining green.

Frank Boaheng of Green Grass Technology, (GGT) a Ghanaian expect from Ghana is currently in Angola to advise the technical team of the Black Stars and the players on how best to manage the situation.