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Veteran coach J.E Sarpong has expressed the Black Stars players weren’t focused prior to the Madagascar game on Sunday.
The Black Stars were held to a goalless draw at the Stade Barea Mahamasina in Antananarivo by Madagascar in the penultimate AFCON qualifier.
This means Ghana will have to wait until the final game of Group E to seal their qualification to the AFCON next year.
In an interview with Accra-based Asempa FM, Sarpong asserted the players didn’t give the match the needed concentration but rather channeled their energy to singing.
“Ghana game against Madagascar was scrappy, it wasn’t a match Black Stars should have underperformed”
“We [Ghana] were ahead of Madagascar when it comes to performance, that is for positive but the negative, no one can score a goal. They could not have shot at goal with the exception of Partey’s shot at goal.
“If Madagascar had given their performance of their last AFCON tournament they could have worried us”
“The issue is when we were preparing for the game, our boys were not focused because if you watched playing against Madagascar and inside the flight having fun and singing songs, there were not focus for the game”, the former Asante Kotoko SC boss revealed.
“We were lucky to have escape with a draw. They created one brilliant chance if they were also focus they could have scored but Madagascar were naive at that. So for me, if we want to go for the AFCON, we need to be cautious and improve if not when the other teams look at us they won’t take us serious because holding AFCON titles, playing at World Cup and with this performance is not encouraging.
Despite the draw, Ghana remain top of the group with 9 points from five games with one more match to go in September against the Central African Republic in Kumasi.
The Black Stars were held to a goalless draw at the Stade Barea Mahamasina in Antananarivo by Madagascar in the penultimate AFCON qualifier.
This means Ghana will have to wait until the final game of Group E to seal their qualification to the AFCON next year.
In an interview with Accra-based Asempa FM, Sarpong asserted the players didn’t give the match the needed concentration but rather channeled their energy to singing.
“Ghana game against Madagascar was scrappy, it wasn’t a match Black Stars should have underperformed”
“We [Ghana] were ahead of Madagascar when it comes to performance, that is for positive but the negative, no one can score a goal. They could not have shot at goal with the exception of Partey’s shot at goal.
“If Madagascar had given their performance of their last AFCON tournament they could have worried us”
“The issue is when we were preparing for the game, our boys were not focused because if you watched playing against Madagascar and inside the flight having fun and singing songs, there were not focus for the game”, the former Asante Kotoko SC boss revealed.
“We were lucky to have escape with a draw. They created one brilliant chance if they were also focus they could have scored but Madagascar were naive at that. So for me, if we want to go for the AFCON, we need to be cautious and improve if not when the other teams look at us they won’t take us serious because holding AFCON titles, playing at World Cup and with this performance is not encouraging.
Despite the draw, Ghana remain top of the group with 9 points from five games with one more match to go in September against the Central African Republic in Kumasi.