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Soccer News of Saturday, 7 February 2015

Source: ghanasoccernet.com

Ghana prevented from training upon arrival in Bata

The Ghana team was prevented from holding its first training session upon arrival in Bata ahead of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations finals against Cote d’Ivoire.

The Black Stars arrived in the commercial capital of Equatorial Guinea on Friday evening to finalize preparations for the all-important final to be played on Sunday.

Avram Grant’s team was however turned away from training having traveled 40 minutes to the designated pitch.

This appears to have given an undue advantage to the Ivorians who played their semi final game in Bata.

Ghana coach Avram Grant claims the inability of his team to train prevented him from knowing the fitness status of captain Asamoah Gyan.

“I could give you a more clear answer [about whether Asamoah Gyan will play] but I don’t know if you know we came to train yesterday and we weren’t allowed to train,” Grant revealed at his official pre-match press conference

“We drove 40 minutes to the training [pitch] and somehow we weren’t allowed to train so we couldn’t see how he is.

“We will see today.”

Ghana have been sweating on the fitness of Asamoah Gyan since the quarter final win over Guinea.

The Black Stars captain sat out the semi final triumph over hosts Equatorial Guinea but is expected to be involved in the finals on Sunday.