Jimmy Cobblah
Chief Coach of the national Under-20 team, Jimmy Cobblah, has predicted a tough return leg tie against Algeria in the African Youth Nations Cup penultimate qualifier on Sunday.
Ghana’s Black Satellites held the Algerians to a hard-hitting barren game in Algiers last Friday, dominating the harsh afternoon in the process.
Though brimming with confidence ahead of the clash which is slated for the Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Sunday, Coach Cobblah told the Times Sports yesterday that he was expecting an intensely cagey game.
“The Algerians are not a bad side at all. We may have dominated, created better scoring chances and even hit the woodwork twice on the afternoon, but that’s not to say the return leg would be a walk in the park.
“We know they could be dangerous, but we are also fully loaded for them as my boys are highly determined to qualify for the next stage of the competition,” he added.
To underline the team’s grit determination, the Satellites zoomed straight into camping at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in Prampram before leaving for Cape Coast yesterday to round off their preparations ahead of the crunch game.
Coach Cobblah recounted to the Times Sports how the Algerians opened the taps on the field of play, an hour ahead of the game “with the intention of making things difficult for us.”
“Clearly, they wanted to make the pitch slippery for us but we got wind of the trick and psyched ourselves for the worse,” he intimated.
He attributed the failure to get goals in the first leg to lack of exposure, inexperience and ill-luck.
“Hopefully, the goals that eluded us in Algiers will pour out on Sunday,” he asserted, calling on Ghanaians to turn out in their numbers and support the Satellites to victory.
Winner of the match will either meet Benin or the Gambia in the final qualifier to the African championship.
The Gambia could only manage a slender 2-1 win over the visiting Benin team in Banjul, throwing the advantage to latter on Sunday.
BY JOHN VIGAH
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