Veteran Ghanaian coach, J.E Sarpong, believes the Black Stars players weren’t focused prior to their matchday five games against Madagascar.
The West African country who needed a win to secure their qualification for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) were held to a goalless draw at the Stade Barea Mahamasina in Antananarivo on Sunday.
Ghana will hope to beat the Central African Republic (CAR) in their final Group E game on September 4 to book their place in the tournament.
In an interview with Asempa FM on the Ultimate Sports Show, Sarpong asserted the players didn’t give the match the needed concentration but rather channelled their energy into 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 for 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, they were not focused for the game.
“We were lucky to have escaped with a draw. They created one brilliant chance if they were also focused 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.
The Black Stars will host CAR at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.
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