Ghana-Turkey: Player Analysis by Fan

Richard Kingston: Not tested in the first half, made one good save but failed to react at the shot on goal. ( Don't blame him though that was a world class goal, and well taken). Lived up to expectation in the second half, with two great saves that kept us in the game. Started the build up that led to the goal.

Paintsil: Made excellent incursions into the Turkish area. Was a delight to watch with his surging forward runs. Also provided an excellent cross in the Turkish box in the second half. Was one of the reasons why we played better offensively in the second half. Did not link up well with Mensah in the first half. He was exposed big time in the second half when he lost his marker twice and Kingston had to be called to duty Should improve his positioning when defending.

Pappoe: Was good at going forward. Made some crucial tackles, and supported the play. Lost the aerial challenges he went for, and made an amteurish mistake that led to the goal. He however did not let that get to him and played with confidence throughout the game.

Kuffuor: Solid performance by Tuga. Won his tackles, and aerial challenges. Our best defender on the day. Brought his experience to bear, and motivated his colleagues. Made a crucial sliding tackle to stop a well played through ball in the first half. He should stop taking free kicks for black stars.

John Mensah: Defended well. Great man- marking ability. Also, managed to intiate forward balls into the midfield expertly in the second half. Slight mis understanding b/n him and Paintsill in the first half. Should learn to release balls early, and stop holding onto them. Also committed a lot of fouls going in for challenges.

Eric Addo: Had some trouble sending the ball forward in his anchoring/ holding role in the first half. Regained possession for the stars on most occassions. Did not commit any serious blunders for the entire ninety minutes. Certainly passed the test as a DM.

Michael Essien: Not assertive in the first half. Made one dangerous forward run in the first half. He stabilized the midfield in the second half with a much imprioved passing game and ball winning ability.

Otto Addo: Great dribbiling ability. Linked up well with Appiah and Painstill in the opening minutes. Got lost for a while in the first half. Over elaborated when he could have passed or had a shot on goal.

Stephen Appiah: Inspirational performance from the captain. Was our livewire and bright spot in the first half. Assisted in defending and got our offense moving. Even better performance in the second half when he setup Amoah for the equaliser with his pass. Linked up with Amoah very well. Impressive work rate. Gave away possession with a stray pass in the second half but was the most consistent player on the pitch.

Sulley Muntari: Added some grit and steel to our midfield following his introduction. Great tackling ability. Very mobile, operated on both sidess of the pitch. Had great shots on goal. Over elaborated and lost possession, but delivered on the day.

Asamoah Gyan: Had a shot on goal earlier on assisted by Appiah. Also hustled to win possession from the Turks. Great first touch, strength and physique. Did not get much service while he was on the field. A legit starter for Black Stars.

Mathew Amoah: Great ball control to score the goal. Ably assisted our offensive play. Also gave an excellent cross in the first half, which was dealt with by the Turkish defense. Went down too easily at times.

Pimpong: Great work rate, aggressive, full of running and won possession by forcing defenders to make errors. Intimidating prescence in the defending third of Turkey. Impressive skills on the ball and a great addition to the squad.

Tachie Mensah: Little time to impress.

The Technical Team

Congrats to Duya for trying out a different starting line up. His changes won the desired effect for the stars. Good to see he was on his feet for 90 minutes, and gave instructions from the touchline.

General Team Play

Improved offensive mechanism in the second half. The team pressured the Turks a lot when they lost possession. The team also managed to keep possession well in the opening minutes of the first half, and the second half. The team was better organised in the second half, and the cohesion was much better compared to that in the first half. The boys played with a more positive attitude in the 2nd half, and were confident.
The back passing is a nuisance, team cohesion still needs improvement. The team did not create a lot of goal scoring opportunities, and our offensive play has to improve