[ 2011-04-20 ]

Grim-faced Black Satellites striker, Richmond Boakye Yiadom, faces a must-win battle with the Gambia

Satellites in danger - Must beat Gambia or bow out
The title defence bid of the national U-21 side,
the Black Satellites, in the ongoing Africa Youth
Championship is on a knife -edge as they walk into
a deadly challenge against the Darling Scorpions
on Thursday.

The Ghanaians Monday, lost 1-2 to age-old foes,
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles, on a difficult pitch
which was rendered soggy by a heavy downpour
earlier in the day, making ball control very
difficult. The Satellites conceded a cheap late
goal, and that has rendered their clash with The
Gambia a cliff-hanger.

The Nigerians, the only side with the best history
in the tournament, having won it five times, and
the only side to have successfully defended the
title, showed greater appetite for another triumph
with a strong start with star striker, Ahmed Musa,
proving deadly for the Satellites defence and
stealing the lead as early as the 17th minute.

Kwame Nsor glanced a header to pull even before
the Nigerians broke the deadlock with that fluke
goal on the 82nd minute.

Monday's defeat of the squad, generally considered
the golden side of Ghana’s football following
their past accomplishments, was the high point of
a tale of abysmal showing that has dogged Ghana
football and made causalties of the local Black
Stars, the Black Queens and the Black Meteors, all
in a spate of two months.

Coach Olando Wellington, who was part of the
history that saw Ghana win the last edition of the
Africa Youth Championship in Rwanda as an
assistant to Coach Sellas Tetteh, left the
Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto having learnt a hard
lesson that the Satellites he and Sellas crafted
two years ago and the current generation may be
worlds apart.

He needs more than wits to claw some pride for
local coaches who have presided over Ghana’s
soccer ignominy as the Scorpions blaze all guns
when they face the Satelllites on Thursday. The
Gambians will definitely relish a moment of
revenge after the Satellites had denied them the
slot to the last edition of the Africa Youth
tourney.

The Gambian threat is underscored by the call-up
of seven foreign-based players by Coach Lamin Sarr
for their grudge mission on Thursday. Athletico
Madrid’s Osman Jarye and lead striker Saihou
Gassama are Gambia’s talisman who will be
relishing an upset of their foes.

But the Satellites, bereft of any elaborate
pre-tournament preparations, still have a golden
chance to bounce back into reckoning as the likes
of Kwame Nsor, Mahatma Otoo and Richmond Boakye
who played gallantly against Nigeria will go into
this Gambian duel wiser.

Source - Daily Graphic

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