The Black Starlets coach reflects on Saturday’s stalemate while looking forward to their next group game
Ghana coach Ben Fokuo believes his team were let down by a lack of sharpness in front of goal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Nigeria at the Wafu Zone B U17 Cup of Nations in Togo.
Having drawn a bye on the first day of matches in a three-team Group B, the Black Starlets got their campaign off to a start with a point against their archrivals.
Nigeria scored first from the spot through substitute Joseph Arumala in the 83rd after striker Abdullahi Ahmed was fouled in the box.
Ghana captain Abdul Fatawu registered a late equaliser, also from the spot, after Samuel Boakye was fouled in the box by Nigeria goalkeeper Destiny Emuwahen.
“The boys did well in the game against Nigeria although we missed many chances that if converted would have given us victory to qualify us to the semis,” Fokuo told SPORTSworldGhana.
“We created a lot of chances but we failed to make good use of them. This is something the technical team has noticed and we have met the players and explained to them what went wrong in the game to them, so we will work on our mistakes and come back stronger against Ivory Coast in our next game.
“Of course we want to qualify for the semi-final. I believe in the boys and I know they will play better against Ivory Coast in our next game to give us victory and make it to the next phase of the tournament.”
Ghana sit second on the log behind leaders Cote d’Ivoire, who beat Nigeria 1-0 in their group opener. The Flying Eagles sit bottom of the log, hoping for a ‘good’ Ghana defeat in their final group game to reach the next round.
A point, in the least, in Tuesday’s clash with Cote d’Ivoire will progress the Black Starlets to the semi-finals.
All teams in the last four will secure qualification for the Africa U17 Cup of Nations (Afcon) later this year in Morocco.
The semi-finalists at Afcon normally qualify for the 2021 Fifa U17 World Cup but the global gathering has been cancelled due to safety concerns with the coronavirus pandemic.
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