We were unlucky against France – Sellas

Black Satellites head coach Sellas Tetteh says Ghana’s 1-2 defeat to France in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup semifinal does not reflect the effort put in by the players.

Addressing a press conference after the match on Wednesday, Tetteh described the match as a game of two halves, adding that football was sometimes like that.

He said: “At least it was a game of two halves. The first half was dominated by France and we dominated the second half. The result doesn’t reflect the performance that Ghana put up but that is football sometimes.”

Tetteh insisted that the players needed to be congratulated despite the loss, noting that there was still a third place spot to fight for.

He added that the boys would need to be motivated for the third place match against Iraq on Saturday.

Sellas Tetteh says the team did not miss the suspended pair of Lawrence Lartey and Joseph Attamah much, adding that the entire team did not play well in the first half. He noted that the makeshift back four did well, despite a few mistakes.

“The absence of the two defenders did not affect us much. The whole team struggled in the first half but things got better. Our defence was solid apart from some mistakes committed. So we did not miss them much.”

The 2009 World Youth Cup winning coach disagreed that playing midfielder Seidu Salifu at right back meant that the team was struggling to get cover for regular right back Richmond Nketiah, adding that Salifu performed well in the role

“I would not agree that we were struggling to get cover for right back. The whole team did not play very well in the first half but they did better in the second half and Salifu looked comfortable. He was very solid at right back.”

Tetteh refused to blame Michael Sai for the second goal, noting that defenders were around as well. He added that his regret is the inability to take the team to the final.

He added: “The regret is that we couldn’t reach the final because our performance should have taken us there. I would not like to blame the goalkeeper for the second goal, even though he could have done something about it. That is why there are defenders around also. Football is like that.”