Outgoing head coach of the Black Stars Maxwell Konadu has hinted at employing defensive tactics when Ghana play the Hawks of Togo in their final African Cup of Nations qualifier in Tamale today.
The Black Stars missed an opportunity to seal their qualification to next years competition in Equatorial Guinea when they were stunned 1-0 by the Cranes of Uganda in Kampala over the weekend.
All teams in Group E head into the last round of matches with a chance of qualifying and Konadu wants Ghana to safe rather than sorry against Togo.
“We will make sure that we close our ranks but ensure that at least we score a couple of goals in the first half, this is very important.
We don’t want the Togolese to grow in confidence in the game so we will be cautious at the back at the same time ensuring that we will be clinical upfront,”he told some journalists during one of the team’s training sessions.
Konadu also gave indication that there is likely to be a shakeup in the squad that will lineup against the Togolese,while making special preparations to neutralize the threat of their talisman Emmanuel Adebayor.
“There will be some few changes but they wont be many,in football anything can happen we will make sure that we can contain him and that he doesn’t cause any damage,”he said.
The Black Stars will have their work cut out against the lanky Tottenham Hotspur striker in light of their poor record in defending crosses and set pieces since aerial ability is a notable strength of Adebayor.
The game will kick off at 4:00pm Ghana time.
By:Benjamim Nketsia/Citifmonline.com/Ghana