Ghana coach C.K Akonnor blames poor second half performance for defeat to South Africa
- C.K Akonnor says his team performed poorly in the second half against South Africa
- The Black Stars lost their second 2022 World Cup qualifier to the Bafana Bafana on Monday
- A late strike from Bongokuhle Hlongwane earned South Africa victory at the FNB Stadium
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Head coach of the senior national team, Charles Kwablan Akonnor, has blamed his team's poor second half performance for the defeat against South Africa.
The Black Stars lost to the Bafana Bafana at the FNB Stadium, following a late strike from South Africa forward, Bongokuhle Hlongwane.
In a post match interview by the coach, monitored by YEN.com.gh, C.K Akonnor admits he was satisfied with the first half performance but added the second half was poor from his players.
Source: Twitter
“Well, we started very well in the first half, tactically, we were very disciplined. It went the way we want it. [But] we were not clinical upfront, that’s the problem. But I was satisfied with the way we played in terms of controlling the game," he said after the game.
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“In the second half, we somehow lost the midfield in terms of how we want to play because we believed that we could win the game. We did one or two substitutions, which really went the other way round and we kept dropping and dropping.”
The defeat means South Africa leapfrog Ghana to top of Group G by a point after two round of games.
The Black Stars will next face Zimbabwe in a two legged game in October but C.K Akonnor has asked CAF and FIFA to reconsider the rules on red listed countries during the qualifiers.
On Monday, the coach was without seven key players including Jordan Ayew and Daniel Amartey.
“The whole issue has been a problem, not just me but other national team coaches across the World. Today, you have a plan, tomorrow you wake up and a player has COVID-19 and he cannot join the team. Others are not allowed to join the team for the same reason," he said.
“I don’t know if CAF and FIFA are handling the situation well because one may ask, can’t we play somewhere else if we cannot bring our players here. There are so many questions to answer and it's not making us comfortable. It’s so difficult.
“We come under severe pressure from our Nation, we have to win at all cost yet this COVID-19 issue has become a major setback and I don’t know if CAF and FIFA are handling the situation very well."
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that, Ghana's senior national team, the Black Stars, suffered a 1-0 defeat to the Bafana Bafana of South Africa on Monday night to surrender their lead at the top of Group G of the World Cup qualifiers.
Bongokuhle Hlongwane netted the only goal of the game in the 82nd minute after an improved second half performance from the hosts.
The hosts earlier had a goal ruled out for offside after Percy Tau looked to be in position before finishing off a cross in the 30th minute.
Source: YEN.com.gh
