Don’t fail us, Black Stars

Ghana’s Black Stars go in search of a victory on Friday afternoon against Algeria’s Desert Foxes at the Estadio Mongomo, hoping to revive their Africa Cup of Nations campaign, following a listless performance and a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Senegal last Monday.

For the Black Stars the task is not only a challenging one because their North African opponents are on the roll after an impressive World Cup campaign in Brazil last year, but also they need to lift themselves up and put up a spirited performance to get Ghanaians to rally behind the team as the tournament goes on.

A win over Algeria will put Avram Grant’s side back into contention and the last group clash with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana could decide their fate, but if they fail to defeat the Desert Foxes, whose spirited display saw them beating the South Africans 3-1, the Black Stars may face another ignominious exit at the high profile tournament and further erode Ghanaians’ faith in the team.

Since Ghana’s inglorious exit from last year’s FIFA World Cup and the events that culminated in the team’s poor show -- some of which were laid bare embarrassingly at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry led by Justice Senyo Dzamefe -- have seen the team fall out of favour with their core supporters who are suspicious of the players’ loyalty to the national jersey.

Despite repeated apologies by the officials of the team and players, including skipper Asamoah Gyan and Andre Ayew, and calls for Ghanaians to rally behind the team, it appears many have just withdrawn their support and emotions invested into the Stars, once the heartbeat of the nation, apathetic to their course at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.

For the Stars to win back their disenchanted fans, a good performance and a win today are non-negotiable, which puts a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of coach Grant and his lieutenants to work on the players’ confidence to put up an improved performance in their subsequent games as the team is noted for.

While the GFA has lowered its expectations at the Nations Cup, in view of the limited time newly-appointed Israeli coach Grant had to put together a youthful team -- some of the players lack Nations Cup experience – Ghanaians always have high expectation of their team, having sacrificed a lot to provide the best of facilities and incentives for the players.

The Black Stars just can’t fail this time.