Uganda 2-2 Ghana: Five things learned from another Black Stars draw

The Black Stars relinquished the lead twice to draw 2-2 against Uganda at the Stade Marrakesh on Tuesday in their last international friendly of the March break.

The team took an early lead through Jerome Opoku before Jordan Ayew scored a penalty to give Ghana the lead after Steven Mukwala equalised for the Cranes also from the spot.

Muhammad Shaban then scored a scrappy goal in the 82nd minute to level the game for Uganda as they held on to claim a famous draw.

Here are five things we learned from the draw:

1. Until the final minutes of the game, the Black Stars were in control. Otto Addo’s side took charge of the game and were dominant in every aspect until a chaotic final ten minutes of the game ruined everything. This was largely because of the late changes.

2. There was a clear instruction from the technical team that the Black Stars must play out from the back. There were scenarios where you would think the obvious option is to play a long ball but the team insisted on playing out from the back.

3. Message to Otto Addo. The team has sent a clear message to new boss Otto Addo about the amount of work that is there to be done. The same issues that resulted in Ghana being kicked out of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations played out in the friendly.

4. Mistakes still prevalent. The team has mistakes still written all over it. The players are relaxed when playing and are not showing awareness. The penalties given away in the two games are clear examples.

5. Indiscipline. There are disciplinary issues within the team. In the two games, two players were sent off. You could argue that Jerome Opoku's sending off was controversial but Alidu Seidu’s against Uganda looked like it was coming because he was complaining too much, though the particular incident that led to the red card was not shown on camera.