From: William Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent in Cabinda, Angola, courtesy Ministry of Youth and Sports)
Cabinda, Angola, Jan 16, GNA - Milovan Rajevic - Head Coach of the Black Stars, has admitted that that his side lost to Cote D' Ivoire as a result of inexperience and lack of quality on the part of his players. The coach who banked his hopes on a blend of youthful players to make an impact in the competition said at post match press conference that, though his players were not that bad with their performance, they fell heavily to the more experienced Ivorian side.
"They did not play that badly, they were up to the task and with an impressive performance. I am satisfied with the output of the young players.
"But it was quality and experience against inexperience. We played better but lost to a side that was made up of players who have the quality to deliver.

"My players fail to prevent counter attacks and this was a clear sign of inexperience". He stated at the press conference. Asked why kept the likes of Haminu Dramani, Asamoah Gyan and Micheal Essien on the bench, the coach said, Essien and Gyan were not fit enough for the game saying: "they could not play 90 minutes, even 45 minutes was a risk we took".

He was however mute on Dramani, but insisted that, the two players have still got some few more days to recover fully for the next game.

The coach also conceded that the high rate of injury that hit his team caused the huge defeat saying the likes of Essien, Gyan, John Mensah, John Paintsil and Stephen Appiah could have make a significant impact.

Coach Rajevic said it was not over yet because he had one more game to play and will use the few days to prepare adequately for victory.

"It is still possible to advance to the next stage, because we have one game at hand and we will work hard at it because we must perform at the competition by making progress to the next stage. Ghana will take on Burkina Faso in the capital Luanda on Tuesday, January 19, for a place in the quarter finals of the competition.