Black Stars B coach, Maxwell Konadu, says injuries played a huge part in the team’s 2-0 loss to Nigeria in the final WAFU Cup Group A match played in Cape Coast on Monday.
Ghana conceded two second half goals from Anthony Okpotu and Peter Moses to snap their unbeaten run in the tournament despite already making it to the semi-finals.
The victory sent Nigeria to the last four after Guinea and Mali drew 1-1 at the Ndoum Stadium.
After the match, Konadu said that injuries robbed him of the services of certain key players and that had an influence on the result.
“It is not about the goals we conceded. It is rather about how fit our players were. There was no time to recover properly for this important match but all the same, the boys managed. Some were carrying injuries but we managed to go through the match.
Most of the players got injured in the first half but we did not have the opportunity to replace them. Isaac Twum, for instance, got injured in the warm up and he thought he could play with it. Unfortunately, we had to replace him.
However, today, Nigeria was the better side and we all agree with that.”
Ghana will keep its eye on Group B to know its opponent in the semi finals. At the Ndoum Stadium, Niger, who have 4 points, will face Benin which has 3 points while winless Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal go at each other at the Cape Coast Stadium.
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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana