GRi Sports Ghana 12 - 03 - 2001
Soccer-Attuquayefio vindicated as Stars draw
with Nigeria
Soccer-Stars/Nigeria stalemate - what the
people say
Nigerian macho men invade Accra
Soccer-Attuquayefio vindicated as Stars
draw with Nigeria
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 March 2001
Black Stars coach, "Sir" Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, was vindicated on Sunday for risking a purely home-based players against a crack foreign-based Nigerian professionals as the two sides drew 0-0 in their group "B" 2002 Japan/Korea World Cup qualifier played at the Accra Sports Stadium.
It was the coach's best result since taking over from Italian Giusseppe Dossena. The Stars have four points from four games, the first win against Sierra Leone, was under caretaker coach Osam Duodu.
Attuquayefio has lost his three games, two in a world cup qualifier, 1-3 against Liberia and 0-1 against Sudan.
Parading an entire Accra Hearts of Oak players that won the Champions League and the Super Cup, Stars mesmerised the Nigerians big guns including former Africa number one, Kanu Nwankwo, with scintillating passes.
Barely a minute after kick-off, the Stars pinned their Super Eagles to their own half and within a spate of 45 seconds, they have wasted two corner kicks.
Young Ishmael Addo nearly silenced the drum-beating and trumpet-blowing Nigerians fans who thronged the Stadium before mid-day when in the sixth minute, he latched on a loose ball went through Stalwart defender Taribo West and Godwin Okpara but shot off target with only goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu to beat.
Those early incursions boosted the morale of the boys who went all out but inexperienced robbed them of glaring goal-scoring chances. Skipper Emmanuel Osei Kuffour could have shot the Stars ahead in the 11th minute but surprisingly fumbled after he had pounced on a Charles Allotey through ball.
Three minutes later and against the run of play, Nigerian's newfound striker, Victor Agali, hit the upright from Gariba Lawal's inswinger.
The Nigerians, sensing danger, played it rough on the young and feeble Ghanaian
strikers including Charles Taylor who was literally thrown on to the tartan tracks while midfielder Adjah Tetteh and defender Edward Agyemang-Duah were stretched off the pitch to receive medical attention.
Agali again in the 35th minute headed off from close range after beating an offside trap.
The Super Eagles, who arrived in the country last Friday after a weeklong camping in neighbouring Togo, looked tired halfway inside the second half.
This forced Dutch coach Joe Bonfrere to bring on smallish Tigani Babangida and
Julius Aghahowa for Gariba Lawal and Finidi George in the 65th and 77th minutes
respectively.
Aghahowa nearly marred the otherwise beautiful game when he intentionally knocked goalkeeper Sammy Adjei in the ribs and later hit Adjah Tetteh in the face in an off-the-ball incident in the 78th and 83rd minutes respectively.
Surprisingly, Zimbabwean referee Felix Tangawanrima, only flashed the yellow card at him.
The Stars launched a last minute attack but Ishmael Addo hit the side net and Kuffour's goal-bound shot was scoped off the goal line.
Liberia lead the five-team group with maximum nine points (today's results not in), followed by Nigeria, seven points, Sudan, six points after winning 2-0 against Sierra Leone on Saturday while Ghana and Sierra Leone are stuck at the bottom with four points and three points respectively. Only one country qualifiers for the mundial.
Ghana and Nigeria have met 45 times- the Stars have won 20 of the encounters , drew 14 and lost 11 as against 11 wins, 14 draws and 20 losses by Nigeria.
Lineup: Ghana- Sammy Adjei, Amankwa Mireku, Jacob Nettey, Edward Agyemang Duah, Stephen Tetteh, Adjah Tetteh, Charles Allottey/Baffour Gyan, Joe Ansah, Ishmael Addo, Emmanuel Osei Kuffour and Charles Taylor.
Nigeria: Ike Shorunmu, Godwin Okpara, Ifeanyi Udeze, Sunday Oliseh, Taribo West, Emeka Ifejiagwa, Finidi George/Tigani Babangida, Austin Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Agali, Gariba Lawal/ Julius Aghahowa.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 12 March 2001
"Sir" Cecil Jones Attuquayefio, head coach of the senior national team has condemned the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for betraying his decision to use mostly local players for the match against Nigeria.
Consequently, the coach said he is contemplating throwing in the towel since he could not work without adequate support from the football association.
In a post match interview, the coach said his reason for using an all local side was to have enough time to strategize for the match because the professionals who would arrived just a few days to the match and might not master the strategy in time.
"The GFA instead of supporting me for this, they gave the impression that the decision was totally mine and that they have nothing to do with it thus invariably turning Ghanaians against me to save themselves. What we have achieved today was solely out of hard work from my local team, with basically no support from the FA since they could not even produce a tape of a Nigerian match when I requested for it."
Coach Attuquayefio expressed his satisfaction for the way his Accra Hearts of Oak team played but said his only regret was that they could not convert any of the many chances that came their way.
He said it appeared to most fans before the match that it was a hopeless situation, considering the array of stars the Nigerians had assembled.
Jones said he had hope in his boys and was not surprised by the level of football they played.
The coach insisted that the World Cup qualification dream of Ghana is not over as reiterated by former Skipper of the team, Abedi Pele who was with the players to motivate them.
Jo Bonfrere, the Dutch coach of the Nigerian Super Eagles said the team failed "because they came here not prepared to fight but expecting victory on a silver platter."
He was full of praise for Taribo West who rose to the occasion and said but for him the story would have been completely different since the other players just came to joke.
Bonfrere said he has taken a cue from the Ghanaian example by depending virtually on local players and in future when the professionals are not doing well.
"This result makes all our four remaining matches very difficult but I hope that the team can qualify since they have that ability to rise to the occasion.
He said qualification would however depend on much harder work than today" Brigadier Dominic Onyea, chairman of the Nigerian Football Association, expressed his disappointment with the play of the team, taking into consideration the fact that the team is an assembly of all the best players in Nigeria.
He said the level of soccer played by the local Black Stars has sent a good message to all Nigerians which they cannot ignore since a lot of talents abound in our respective local leagues.
"The club against country issue is also one issue that the NFA would take another look at since the technical team of the team arrived in Lome Togo to prepare for the match, without any player and had to wait for them to trickle in."
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Soccer-Stars/Nigeria stalemate - what the
people say
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 March 2001
Kwesi Appiah, assistant coach of the Black Stars has described the use of local players for the match against the Super Eagles of Nigeria as a risk they took but which has worked perfectly.
"I think the boys passed the test by adopting a strategy that confused the Super Eagles.''
Disclosing this to the GNA sports after the local players had performed creditably, Kwesi Appiah said they expected so much from them since they are the African Super Champions and the whole world was watching them.
He said the boys were committed and were determined to win hence they did not allow the Super Eagles to play their best.
Touching on the alleged refusal of the head coach, Jones Attuquayfio to blend the foreign-based players with the locals, Kwesi Appiah said they took into consideration the short time of blending them let alone the difficulty in getting them around; hence the idea to prepare the local boys to face the Nigerians.
Mr Kudjo Fianoo, Team Manager of the Black Stars said the performance of the Stars was satisfactory saying he was very happy with the outcome.
'Our boys gave a good account of themselves. We are fulfilled because we always find it difficult getting our foreign based players, so we thought it appropriate to build a team around Hearts of Oak players.''
He said it was too early to comment on whether they would use local players for future matches or not.
Charles Allotey, a star performer in the duel described the match as their game even though they failed to produce a goal.
He said he took the match as one of their African Clubs Championship matches played last year.
"We did our best, even though people made unfair comments about our ability to deliver. We are a team, we are champions so they should not have underrated us."
A Nigerian sportswriter with Today's Sports, Mr Keresifon Essien, said the match was a game, which Ghana should have won.
He described the Stars as skilful and fast, unlike "the Super Eagles some of who are aged.
He said most of the Eagles were not fit for the match and Ghana should have won.
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Nigerian macho men invade Accra
Accra (Greater Accra) 12 March 2001
More than a dozen Nigerian macho men made their presence felt at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday after the Ghana -Nigeria World Cup qualifier when they guarded the Super Eagles and prevented journalists and fans from getting easy access to them.
The he-men who were dressed in black T-shirts over the same colour of jeans pairs of trousers mounted sentry at the entrance to the Nigerian dressing room and resisted attempts by anxious media practitioners to interview their players.
About ten of them condoned off the bus carrying the Super Eagles after the match and
trotted along in readiness to thwart any offensive as the vehicle moved out of the stadium.
Others followed the Nigerian team's bus closely from behind craving their necks out in alertness against any attack.
The GNA investigations revealed that the macho men were the personal bodyguards of the Nigerian professionals and they were fretted in by the players to provide them with security.
Mr Bassey Etuk, a photo journalist with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) described the practice as "pomposity and a show of wealth".
He said the money wasted to finance the trip of the "power men" should have been donated to charity or invested in the grooming of young players who would take over from them when they retire.
He said he was not happy with the performance of the team against a Ghanaian squad selected from one team, adding that the draw did not reflect the trend of play. Ghana should have won the game.
Mr Oasim Elegbede, Deputy Editor of Complete Football Magazine corroborated the stance of Mr Etuk when he told the GNA that the Nigerian were saved by God.
He praised the Ghanaian technical team and the players for the "fluid attacking football" they played and said Nigeria should take a cue from it and begin grooming boys from the local league to don the Super Eagles' jerseys in the future.
Mr Elegbede said the type of football the boys played could be a worry to any of the teams in the World Clubs' Championship scheduled for Spain in July.
He advised the Hearts' management to motivate the boys to keep up the tempo and do Africa proud when they lead the African assault against the likes of Real Madrid of Spain and LA Galaxy of the United States during the championship.
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