West African neighbours Ghana and Guinea will be locked up in an interesting battle in an unfamiliar terrain at the Mohamed V Stadium in Casablanca at 8p.m. tonight in a desperate search for an AFCON 2015 appearance in that same country.
The Black Stars confront Syli Nationale with a new man in charge but are still confident of shining since Coach Maxwell Konadu’s set-up is not significantly different from that of his former boss, Kwasi Appiah, save two additions and one subtraction.
As Coach Konadu assumes the hot seat to face his first major test against the ever-stubborn Guineans, so will South Africa-based Kwabena Adusei and Yaw Frimpong of TP Mazembe fame be longing for a dream debut after Spanish side Mirandes CD, refused to release goalkeeper Razak Brimah at short notice, leaving the Stars with only two home-based goalkeepers - Fatau Dauda and Stephen Adams.
Having registered one victory already over Togo in their newly-adopted Casablanca home due to the Ebola scare in Guinea, Frenchman Michel Dussuyer and his handicapped squad will be fancying their chances against the Stars in this tight Group E tie ahead of the return leg in Tamale next Thursday.
Currently third with three points, just a point adrift of joint leaders Ghana and Uganda, stubborn Guinea need the maximum points badly against group favourites Ghana, who also need to win to inch closer towards qualification to Morocco 2015.
Reports indicate that Dussuyer will miss key foreign-based players such as Alhassane Bangoura (Spain), Kevin Konstant (Turkey), Kamil Zayatte (England) and Guy Michel Landel (Turkey) but remains confident of finding fitting replacements to get a respectable result against the star-studded Ghana side.
With morale high in the Stars’ camp after four days of training in the Moroccan city, it is obvious Coach Konadu and his assistant Prof Joseph Mintah might face the usual problem of selecting the first team for the Guinea challenge.
The deadly strikers of the team are expected to lead the Stars attack, with support services expected from Emmanuel Agyeman-Badu, Andre Dede Ayew, Kwadwo Asamoah and Christian Atsu in midfield to ensure a second staright away win after the 3-2 triumph over Togo last month.
