Appiah sure of qualification
Coach James Kwasi Appiah has commended the Black Stars B for their gallant performance against Burkina Faso last Saturday, promising to seal qualifiication to the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Kenya on Sunday.
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The Stars B drew 2-2 with Burkina Faso after taking the lead twice, giving them the edge in Sunday’s return leg at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.
“The boys did very well. They really fought hard despite lack of exposure for most of them.
“The result is good for us and we will fight hard to qualify,” Coach Appiah told the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday ahead of the team’s departure to Kumasi.
According to him, the players prevailed over frustrations they were subjected to by their Burkinabe hosts prior to the match, including missing one training session before the game.
“The people really frustrated us to the extent that we couldn’t even train on Thursday because they ended up using the same pitch they gave us to train on.
“It was only Friday we got the chance to train on the pitch for the match,” he lamented.
He stated that the story would have been different had the seven players whom they lost to the exodus bandwagon been part of the team.
Assistant coach, Maxwell Konadu, lost as many as seven players, including the WAFA duo of Razak Abalora and Majeed Ashimeru, and Nicholas Opoku of Berekum Chelsea during the team’s preparations for this final eliminator.
The situation, according to Coach Appiah, resulted in the last-minute invitation of some players into the team last week.
He, however, praised the Burkinabe side as well for playing very well on the day and forcing a draw in the end.
The Stars B are chasing one of the three West Zone slots for Kenya 2018 next year.
