The Black Stars have an uphill task against Nigeria having drawn barren at The Baba Yara Stadium on Friday.
A win for either side on Tuesday at The Moshod Abiola Satdium in Abuja guarantees qualification to World Cup 2002 in Qatar.
The Black Stars on the back of a disappointing Afcon needed to right the wrongs and started the game brightly on a front foot as the pressure they mounted on The Super Eagles in the early exchanges yielded three ( 3 ) corner kicks to the admiration of the mammoth crowd that turned up for the game.
The trust and confidence Coach Otto Addo reposed in the likes of AS Roma wonder kid, Felix Afena Gyan , Denis Odoi, Gideon Mensah and former U20 star, Abdul Fatawu Ishahaku was hugely repaid as they churned out impressive displays particularly in the first half.
Chances were far and in between regardless as Ishahaku’s piledriver and an equally better save from Francis Ozuho was the only decent goalscoring opportunity recorded in the first half .
Austin Eguavon clearly was missing the service of his linchpin Wilfred Ndidi as his midfied looked non-existent and failed to put through the balls to target man, Victor Osimen. Nonetheless, the Eagles enjoyed some wonderful spell of possession at certain points to control the game.
But The Black Stars appeared the hungrier side as they pushed for the opener with a Kudus Mohammed’s low grounder forcing another spectacular save from stand in stopper, Francis Uzoho in the formative moments of the second half. Afena Gyan on his debut also showed glimpses of the striker Ghana has so ever desired as he constantly posed trouble for Troos Ekong and Leon Balogun.
Frustration begun to set in for the Black Stars as the much needed goal proved elusive and this leans credence to how the game plan of the men in green worked out to perfection.
Austin Eguavon may have won the battle with a result that puts his side in a good stead for qualification but who wins the war in the final analysis on Tuesday in Abuja.
It’s a reversed situation now as Nigeria need to win and winning means scoring goals. The Moshod Abiola Stadium is expected to be filled to the rafters with an intimidating atmosphere. The Eagles would like to soar as high as possible with an early goal to unsettle The Stars.
So just lke his opposite number did at Baba Yara.. , Otto Addo will need to map out a strategy that should keep at bay the plethora of attacking threat the 3 time champions of Afica has in their ranks.
On the evidence of proceedings from the first leg, Ghanaians do not need to press the panick button yet as the back four marshaled by the leadership of Daniel Amartey neutralised every attacking threat thrown at them. The midfield trio of Baba Iddrisu, Thomas Partey and Kudus Mohammed obviously bossed the midfield but it remains to be seen how they’re able to contain the pressure that comes with playing away
from home.
In attack , Afena Gyan in large spells was starved off the supplies but needs to be highly clinical with the few opportunities that would be carved out for him because it seldomly will come. Jordan Ayew was unproductive again but defensively bailed out Gideon Mensah a couple of times to render Samuel Chukuweze impotent on the flank. Fatau also had a decent first half making a few incursions to register Ghana’s sole shot on target in the first half but run out of gas from the 60th minute but his directness certainly was a menace to the Nigerian defence.
The task is herculean admittedly but Ghana with the right attitude, mental fortitude and resilience can put Nigeria to an early sleep come Tuesday.
Against all odds, Central Africa showed the way that Nigeria are very beatable at home . Sierra Leone also clawing back from four goals down to share the spoils with the same Nigeria shoudj inspire some hope and confidence to Otto Addo and his guys that Qatar is still in sight .
Sad to see one of Africa’s two giants miss out in Qatar but that’s the harsh reality both Ghana and Nigeria have to deal with on Tuesday . It looks gloomy for Ghana from the bookies perspective ahead of the tie but it could be Doom In Abuja and for that matter the whole of Nigeria when their optimism doesn’t reach fruition.
By: KOFI MENSAH
