After struggling to beat Gambia in the first round of the WAFU Cup of Nations, Ghana showed more hunger and determination to get their group stage campaign off to a flying start.
It was one of the best match days since the competition got underway last Saturday and the Black Stars B matched the occasion with a stunning performance to outclass Guinea at the Cape Coast Stadium.
Second half goals from Berekum Chelsea star man, Stephen Sarfo and Kwame Kizito of Hearts of Oak gave Ghana a 2-0 victory and head coach Maxwell Konadu was happy to see his charges cope with the pressure.
He said: “The tension, the pressure, the atmosphere was quite different in the first game than this one,”
“This time around, the boys were relaxed and we were able to calm them down enough before the kick-off and I think that also contributed to the performance this afternoon,’’
“We spoke to the players one-on-one before the match and did a lot of practice with them, especially those who were playing in unfamiliar positions and they perfectly executed the game plan. Seeing Abbey [Thomas] win the valuable Player should tell you the work we put in this game.”
“Yes the fans came, the pressure was there, but it was different. We know we are in the group stage now. Initially, I said that playing in the group stage is different from playing in the knockout stage.”
Konadu, however, played down the team’s chances of winning the trophy.
“Talking about winning the tournament at this time, I think it’s early days yet. We have a couple of matches to play before we will know if we’ve achieved our aim or not,”
Ghana will next face Mali in Group A on Saturday, September 16. The Black Stars B sits at the summit of the group.
