Atsu blames Liberia pitch for Black Stars defeat

Published on: 12 September 2012

By Patrick Akoto

Christian Atsu cited the poor pitch at the SKD Sports Complex as one of the reasons why the Black Stars underperformed against Liberia.

A brace by Indonesia-based striker Zah Krangar in a space of three minutes condemned the Black Stars to a surprise 2-0 defeat in Paynesville.

It the 17th defeat suffered by the West African heavyweights against the Lone Star as the Liberians looked superior to their opponent in every aspect of the game.

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah made changes to the starting line up that beat Malawi in a 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifier which proved worthless as they team failed to spark in the friendly.

From defence to attack, the team remained ineffective as they surrendered to the sorry defeat against the lowly-ranked side.

But the Porto winger claims the poor pitch scuppered their chances to eclipse their Liberian opponent.

“I will say we had a difficult game. The picth was als a factor because it didn’t help us to play fluid football,” Atsu told Accra-based Peace FM

“I believe our normal game was interrupted due to the nature of the picth among other factors.

“We have to accept defeat and correct our mistakes in the next crucial game against Malawi.”

The 20-year-old also took a swipe at Liberian referee Jerry Yekeh for taken ‘strange decisions’ against the Black Stars.

“The referee was also a huge problem. He had isues with every move that we made and that also frustrated us,”

“His performance on the day was very poor and that must be taken into accont.”

The Black Stars will battle Malawi in the return fixture of the qualifier for the 2013 African Cup of Nations next month.

The team needs to avoid defeat in Blantyre to qualify to the African mundial having taken a healthy 2-0 lead from the first leg.

The 29th edition of the African Cup of Nations will be held in South Africa from 19 January – 10 February, 2013.

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