Stars eye WAFU Cup glory

The local Black Stars will have to deal with high expectations of home supporters and a formidable Senegal side in the final of the GOtv WAFU Cup this afternoon at the Baba Yara Stadium. Kick-off is at 4.30pm.

Despite struggling to reach the final, the Stars are under pressure to win the tourney as the host team even though the Senegalese, winners of Group B, start the game as favourites, having qualified  for the final by humbling defending champions Togo by 3-1 in their final group game.

The Senegalese also possess a 100 per cent record heading into today’s game, with the Maxwell Konadu’s charges struggling to win over the home support following their disappointing defeat to Benin in the second group game last Saturday and a slim 2-1 victory over Burkina Faso last Monday, which shot them into the final as winners of Group A.

Ghana defenders,  Nuru Sulley and Kwabena Adusei, will have to be at their best if they are to keep the Teranga Lions top scorer, Talla Ndiaye from adding to his three-goal,  tally as the competition’s leading marksman.

However, Coach Konadu and his team will never have a better opportunity to annex the sub-regional competition reserved for home-based players than in a familiar environment in front of their fans. And for FA president, Kwesi Nyantakyi, who was re-elected as president of WAFU Zone B,   winning the trophy will be the icing on his cake, coming also in the wake of Ghana’s qualification to the FIFA World Cup.

Nonetheless, home advantage is no guarantee for success for the Stars in the light of their not-so impressive showing so far, and they will have to dig deep and put up their best performance yet in order to deny Senegal the WAFU Cup glory.