Head Coach of the Black Queens Bashir Hayford says Saturday's international friendly against the Shepolopolo of Zambia was an eye-opener for his team and will go a long way to help him sharpen the rough edges of the team ahead of the African Women's Cup of Nations.
The Queens threw away a 2-0 first-half lead to suffer a 3-2 defeat at the hands of the Zambians in their first pre-Africa Women's Cup of Nations friendly match played at the Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka.
Speaking on arrival in Kenya on Sunday where the team is currently preparing to face the Harambee Starlets of Kenya in the second of three international friendlies line up for the team, coach Hayford said preparation was on course and there was no cause for alarm.
He stated that the arrival of players and officials in batches before that game affected the playing body and hampered preparations but that notwithstanding they had a very good game and it was an eye-opener for the team.
On the game against Kenya, the coach hoped to try a number of the new players that have joined the team.
Once again, Coach Hayford was confident the Queens could come out victorious despite the strength of the Kenyan side but was quick to add that results do not mean much to him more than performance.
"I am focused on my team's general play rather than the results. Over the past weeks we have been rehearsing a few things at training and this is the time to put them to practice and see how the girls would cope."
The team will return to Ghana on November 9 to wrap up preparations for the competition with a final friendly game against the Bayana Bayana of South Africa on November 11 at the Accra Sports Stadium.
The Black Queens will open their AWCON campaign against the Fennecs of Algeria at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday, November 17 before taking on the Aigles Dames of Mali on November 20 and the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroon on November 23.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS