Category: Athletic

Ghana defender Alexander Djiku has reacted to Strasbourg’s defeat to Troyes in the Ligue 1 on Monday.

Strasbourg are in the relegation zone with just four points behind Angers who are bottom on the table.

The Alstian club have suffered back-to-back defeats putting them up for relegation this season.

Djiku who started and lasted the entire duration has expressed his disappointment following his sides 3-2 defeat to Troyes on home turf.

“It’s a very difficult evening for us. We got ourselves into trouble. We conceded two goals very quickly. It’s complicated to start a game two goals down. But we saw that we were conquerors, we came back and we lacked a bit of success to score the third goal”

“They are the ones who put it on. But there is no coincidence. If we are there, it is because we still have to do more. We will do more and believe us, we will get out of it,” regrets the Ghanaian defender at the microphone of Prime Video.

Strasbourg face bottom-place Angers in their next game and must avoid another defeat in their battle against relegation.

Source: Ghana Web

Aduana Stars star man Emmanuel Gyamfi has squashed talks he is peevish after his recent misbehaviour against Asante Kotoko in the Ghana Premier League.

The winger stamped the foot of goalkeeper Frederick Asare in an off-the-ball incident at the blind side of referee Mohammed Misbau.

This is not the first time Gyamfi has been caught up in controversy.

During his stint with Kotoko, he was fined by the FA in 2021 for misconduct when they played against Inter Allies.

Asked whether his temperamental nature makes him lose control, Gyamfi told Asempa Sports: ‘I am not quick-tempered. I take everything cool. I just want the truth to be delivered for people to see”

“I know after football you will definitely meet people you wouldn’t know they will help you.”

Gyamfi has since rendered an unqualified apology to Ghanaians for his misconduct.

Source: Ghana Web

Former Ghana coach Kwasi Appiah has availed himself of the vacant Black Stars job.

The former Ghana defender was sacked from his role as a coach in January 2020 despite a good start to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Following his departure, three coaches including his former assistant Charles Kwablan Akonnor have handled the Black Stars.

After the World Cup, Otto Addo stepped down as coach of the Black Stars.

“The fact that I have not come out to say I have stopped coaching, if the opportunity comes and I can help why not?” he said in an interview with Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV.

“Once coaching is my destiny if I’m approached and I can help why not.”

The Ghana Football Association are in a hunt for a new manager ahead of the resumption of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Ghana sit top of Group D in the qualifiers after two matches.

Source: Ghana Web

Hearts of Oak head coach Slavko Matic has attributed his first league defeat to Bechem United as a mistake on the part of his team.

Accra Hearts of Oak kicked off 2023 on the wrong foot as they lost by 2-1 to Bechem United in matchday 10 of the Ghana Premier League at the Cape Coast Stadium.

Speaking to StarTimes after the game, Slavko Matic disclosed that he made some tactical errors which Bechem United capitalized on.

“Nobody likes to lose but we gave it to our opponents, everything today. We know they have good transitions but we make tactical mistakes,” Slavko Matic said.

“The young players also, they start to be nervous and today we lost three points very cheap,” he added

Kofi Mantey scored as early in the 6th minute when he picked up a defence-splitting to put Bechem United in the lead as Richmond Ayi was unable to stop him.

Seven minutes later, Hafiz Konkoni doubled the lead for the Hunters when he smashed the ball into the waiting nets after the Hearts of Oak defence went to sleep.

In the dying embers of the game, Hearts of Oak managed to pull one back through defender Robert Addo Sowah but there was not enough time to restore parity as the referee ended proceedings shortly after.

The defeat was the first one for Hearts of Oak coach, Slavko Matic since taking over the club. He went 6 matches without a defeat.

Hearts of Oak are currently fifth on the league standings and will face Tamale City on 8 January 2023.

Source: Ghana Web

Hearts of Oak head coach, Slavko Matic has explained why his team suffered a defeat to Bechem United on Monday afternoon.

According to him, although his players gave their all, they got nervous at a point and lost the match because of it.

“Nobody likes to lose but we gave to our opponents everything today. In the first 15 minutes, they scored two goals. We know they have good transitions but we made tactical mistakes.

“When it’s an open ball and you don’t have good defensive transitions, you must go big. We tried to take the ball. We gave them space. Also, they had one more chance and shot. We gave everything to them. And after that, it is very difficult. Our players start to get nervous and today we lose. Very cheap,” Coach Slavko Matic explained.

In the match against Bechem United, Hearts of Oak conceded twice in the first 15 minutes.

Although Kwadwo Obeng Jnr would net a consolation goal in the 89th minute of the second half, it could not save the team from a 2-1 defeat at the end of the contest.

Source: Ghana Web

Black Galaxies head coach Annor Walker says he is satisfied with his team’s preparation for the African Nations Championship (CHAN) tournament set to start in Algeria on 13 January 2023.

The home-based national team is expected to arrive in Algiers on Wednesday, 4 January 2023 after completing a two-week training tour in Egypt.

They won two friendly matches against Egypt’s U20 and Al Ahly.

Walker, who handles Ghana Premier League side Samartex, had this message for Ghanaians: “We have about two weeks ahead of us before the commencement of the tournament which I feel by then the team would be in good shape and we will all give them [Ghanaians] their heart desires.”

Ghana open their tournament campaign on 15 January against Madagascar before taking on Sudan four days later.

Their final Group C match will be against tournament-favorites Morocco on 23 January 23.

All three matches will be played in the city of Constantine.

Source: Ghana Web

Following Black Stars’ group stage defeat at the recently-held 2022 Qatar World Cup, some crop of Ghanaians are pushing for the GFA to look into the curriculum vitae of former Ghana captain, Sebastian Barnes.

Sebastian Barnes, born 18 November 1976, is a Ghanaian former footballer who played at both professional and international levels as a midfielder.

Barnes began his career with Hearts of Oak from 1991-1995, before playing for top-level German teams Bayer 04 Leverkusen (1995) and 1. FSV Mainz 05. In 1997, Barnes played for the Orlando Sundogs in the USISL A-League.

After leaving Mainz in 1998, Barnes played for some lower-league German clubs, including VfL Hamm/Sieg and SF Neitersen.

After representing Ghana at the FIFA U-17 World Championship in both 1991 and 1993, Barnes earned one cap for the senior team in 1994.

Nonetheless, many have taken to some digital airwaves to push the Ghana Football Association to poach Sebastian Barnes as the head coach following Otto Addo after the 2022 World Cup.

Meanwhile, the call for Sebastian Barnes soared after his CV leaked on social media.

He is currently making an impact in Germany where he is a youth team Coach at Buyer Leverkusen, where he played from 1995 to 1996.

His style of coaching and the impact he’s making outside makes it important to be given a role as a coach in Ghana. From 2012 to 2014 he was appointed as the coach of Bayer O4 Leverkusen.

Source: Ghana Web

English-born Ghanaian forward Eddie Nketiah has revealed his ambitions of winning a European title with Arsenal.

A young Nketiah watched Arsenal lose in the UEFA Champions League final in 2006 against Barcelona, before making the squad in the Europa League final defeat to Chelsea in 2019.

Nketiah has become an integral part of the Gunners this season, as the North London club eye Premier League and Europa League glory.

“Definitely, that’s a big motivation for us this season. We want to bring back European success here,” he told Arsenal media.

“Of course, we can only look at the next step, but definitely our aim is to win the trophy this year. We have the quality and the players to do so, and we’re working hard every day to achieve that.

“For sure we all missed playing in European football last season,” he added. “I know I certainly did. It gives you more games, and more game time, but mainly it’s a great feeling to test yourself against European teams and different defences.

“It’s a competition that we’ve always taken seriously, it’s great to be back and hopefully we can have another good run this year and go all the way.”

Nketiah has scored in his last two Premier League starts for Arsenal as they open a seven-point gap against Manchester City.

Source: Ghana Web