<<Print>>

The Black Stars of the Ghana will have the last opportunity to carve their destiny in Angola when they play against Burkina Faso in Luanda on Tuesday. The match is so crucial to Ghana as even a draw will not be enough to save the Black Stars from exiting the bi-annual championship. Every Ghanaian would love to see the midfield of the Stars being marshaled by the talismanic presence of Michael Essien who has unfortunately picked up another injury making his involvement in the Burkina Faso game a non-issue. The big question is, how will the Stars cope in such deciding moment when pressure is at fever pitch without Michael�s inspiration? Even in that nightmarish game against the Ivory Coast, Essien came on in second half, changing the face of the game, unfortunately the day was just going to be sour and gloomy for the nation as we succumbed to that painful 3-1 defeat at the hands of Cote D�Ivoire. And from what was seen in the first game, which has been concurred with, by Coach Milovan Rajevac, experience was key to the success of Ghana�s opponents Ivory Coast last Friday. The Black Stars do not have the tournament experience since seven players out of the starting lineup in our last game were only making their nations cup debut. Inkoom, Rahim, Vorsah, Agyemang Badu, Opoku Agyemang, Kwadwo Asamoah, and Moussa Narry were all there the first time. Goalkeeper Richard Kingston didn�t have a good day as he conceded goals which he could have saved given his exploits in the past, but again he was just going to find things difficult because the usual covering defence was unavailable. He gave up the ghost so easily whiles Mathew Amoah also failed to shine on a day everybody expected magic from the trusted striker. There cannot be any argument about the fact that Ghana played well through the last thirty minutes of the game. Though Essien is a doubt and will be sorely missed should he not recover in time for the Burkina Faso encounter, the main problem with Ghana was the defence which got frightened any time they needed to tidy up the vital area. If Milovan would listen, allow Lee Arday partner Eric Addo instead of Vorsah, and again deploy Harrison Afful at the left back, the panic might subside a bit. Again, with the gigantic bodies of the Burkinabes, it is very essential to consider the best system for the Black Stars, which will be the 4-5-1, where concentration as well as strength will be in midfield, and then they can mass up in attack. It is still unknown how Dominic Adiyiah, the World Best Under 20 player, who also won the goal king in the tournament in Egypt, will perform since the coach is yet to allow the prodigy playing time. Maybe this time around, he might get his chance to feature for Ghana; a good day for Adiyiah is certainly a guarantee Ghana will be through to the quarterfinal. Finally yet importantly, those thoughts of pessimism about our chances of making it to the next stage because of the loss to Cote D�Ivoire, must change. Nigeria lost their first game against Egypt but came back strongly against Benin, likewise Cameroun who defeated Zambia in their second game after their abysmal outing against Egypt; Ghana can do it no matter the circumstances. With expectations, clearly sky high, all Ghanaians need to rally behind the Stars ahead of this all-important fixture. We shall overcome!