Sports Features of Sunday, 23 June 2013

Source: Christopher Opoku

Comment: Sellas Tetteh got his tactics wrong!

As I watched the Black Satellites being comprehensively outfought by France in the Group A opener of the ongoing FIFA Under 20 World Cup, a lot of questions ran through my mind.

For starters, I was wondering why Baba Abdul Rahman and Richmond Boakye Yiadom did not start.

Secondly and far more importantly, I was surprised to see Joseph Duncan deployed in a dual role of holding midfielder cum deep lying playmaker.

Finally, I was asking myself why our midfield engine broke down completely as the game wore on. In as much as I do not think the Satellites are out of the competition, this piece will attempt to highlight Ghana’s weaknesses on the day which culminated in the 1-3 loss to France.

Without mincing words, I believe that head coach Sellas Tetteh got his tactics wrong on the day and I will explain.

Every successful team will always have a holding midfielder or a ‘water carrier’, plus a playmaker alongside him. The holding midfielder’s role is to protect the back four and break up opposing attacks, whilst the playmaker alongside him is supposed to orchestrate attacks for the team through distribution.

Watching Duncan play, I could tell that he can play as a deep lying playmaker, but asking him to act as the screen for the back four as well proved too much to handle for him.

It left Ghana without a holding midfielder and as a result, Lawrence Lartey and Joseph Attamah Larweh were forced to move a higher line to stop the French onslaught.

They were able to hold France off for 65 minutes, which in itself is commendable, but it is suicidal to play without a specialized holding midfielder against such a technical side as France.

This is why I will question Tetteh’s decision not to start Seidu Salifu, whose importance to the team was evident during the African Youth Soccer Championships in Algeria.

Salifu could easily have acted as a screen in front of the back four, releasing Duncan to spray passes across the field.

Indeed, Duncan would have been freed to have kept an eye on France captain Paul Pogba, who was key to the victory. Had Tetteh mapped out a strategy to mark out the Juventus midfielder, France would have been restricted.

France head coach Pierre Mankowski was refreshingly honest when he admitted before the game that all he knew about the Black Satellites side was through a DVD.

With Pogba shining in the Juventus midfield, is it safe to ask whether Tetteh and his technical team knew anything about the French team, which also contained Sevilla midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia and Auxerre striker Yaya Sanogo, both transfer targets for top European clubs including Arsenal? I suppose not.

Another issue related to the one raised above was that there seemed to be an absence of role clarification. Moses Odjer is a gifted footballer, but in this match he failed to support Duncan when necessary and he did not seem to know where to play.

It meant that there was a gaping hole between central midfield and the attack. This was another reason why Pogba flourished for France in the middle. He had so much space that apart from holding effectively for France, he dovetailed effectively with Kondogbia and that is a major reason why Ghana lost.

Also a lack of creativity in the middle restricted Ghana, which means Tetteh might have to consider using Clifford Aboagye in the next game against Spain on Monday. With the Spaniards running out 4-1 victors against the United States, these are areas Tetteh would seriously need to consider before that game.

Finally, after discovering that Ebenezer Ofori was a betted left sided midfielder than a left back, I was expecting that Tetteh would have used Jeremiah Arkorful at left back, even if he did not want to start with Baba Rahman.

Ofori kept losing the ball in key areas and you could hear Tetteh’s bellows of frustration every time Ofori gave a misplaced pass or lost the ball.

To remedy the problem, Frank Acheampong should have been taken off at half time for either Arkoful or Rahman, so that the New Edubiase United wing back could play further forward. As it happened, we were stretched as a result and paid the price.

Richmond Boakye Yiadom should have started, pure and simple. Paul Pogba has already represented France at senior level but he started this game.

Boakye Yiadom, who is an accomplished penalty box finisher, would have done some damage for Ghana had he started.

He came on late but still managed to score and for me, it will be suicidal not to start him against Spain. Francis Narh will probably have to drop out for Boakye Yiadom to link up with the enthusiastic Assifuah, who also needs to keep a cool head.

The Liberty Professionals striker looked over anxious and he tried too hard, resulting in wild shots off target.

All in all, it is not over, even if Ghana has to face the might of Spain on Monday. With the right set of tactics and starting lineup, the Satellites can get something out of the Spain game.

We can only hope that the technical team fashions out a workable strategy, instead of trying to accommodate certain players, that would do the trick.

It is also important for Tetteh to pick up his boys mentally so that they are well prepared for a far more difficult game on Monday.