AFCON 2023 You Cant Blame Black Stars Coach for Players Mistakes Nana Akomea

The Black Stars yesterday shattered the dreams of many Ghanaian soccer fans after dropping their hope for the team to qualify for the next stage of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) happening in Ivory Coast.

The players left the fans heartbroken following their draw with Mozambique after securing a 2-goal lead and dashing the Mozambicans with two goals after the 90th minute of the game.

The match ended in a 2:2 draw due to an avoidable mistake by Ghana's goalkeeper, Richard Ofori, who decided to touch a ball that was going over the line by the side of the goalpost.

Nana Akomea, Chief Executive Officer of State Transport Corporation, as many Ghanaians are, is in a state of confusion over why the Ghana-Mozambique game could end in a tie.

He blamed the players solely for their mistakes on the pitch, resulting in the embarrassment that they have caused Ghana.

The STC boss, unlike Ghanaian soccer fans calling for the head of Ghana's coach to roll, stated on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show that the coach, Chris Hughton, is not to blame for the individual mistakes of the players in yesterday's match and all other games in the tournament.

To him, there is no way the coach could have predicted the players' unfathomable mistakes.

"With the individual mistakes, you can't blame the coach because the coach is not standing on the park...Count the times that a winger got the ball and didn't cross, many, many times, and we will be bringing the ball to the back. So, tactically, Ghana is poor...Many of the goals they scored us were due to individual mistakes, and we cannot blame the coach for it," he stated.

Nonetheless, Nana Akomea noted that the coach cannot also go scot-free because he was also poor at making tactical decisions that could have pushed Ghana forward in the AFCON.

"The coach has to be blamed, and the players too have to be blamed," he concluded.

Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/