Humble pies have never tasted good, but last night a certain Derek Boateng served me one and boy it tasted good.
"Junior Mayele'' as Boateng is popularly known, came on at half time and completely changed the face of the international friendly against England on Tuesday night at Wembley.
In a largely exciting game, it was only fitting that Asamoah Gyan scored dramatically in injury time (91st minute) to cancel out Andy Carroll's 43rd minute strike.
One-all it ended and both set of fans, especially Ghanaians, who lit up the stadium, went home in rapturous mood.
Now back to the pie Derek Served me, I confess unashamedly that I have been a Derek Boateng critic for quite some time and last night when I saw him preparing to come on at half time for Anthony Annan, I cringed and sighed; here we go again!
But ''Dada Boat'' sure had me in mind when he stabilized the Black Stars’ midfield play by his energetic play. Way to go Derek!
Boateng was my Man of the Match and not Stewart Downing who won the official award. Downing should have rather picked up the luckiest player of the match.
Lee Addy’s positioning was so bad that several balls were played behind him which offered Downing acres of space down the left side of Ghana’s defense. Addy really made Downing look so good, Downing must have been thinking; too good to be true!
In Addy’s defense, he just returned from injury. Or could it have been the effect of jet-lag from flying 4,000 miles across the Atlantic, having played and beaten Congo Brazzaville 3-0 in the African Nations Cup Qualifier 2 days earlier? Just maybe. So he can be pardoned. I hesitate to hit a man when he is down, it’s immoral, so Lee, I would let you off on compassionate grounds.
That was just on a lighter note, the essence of this post mortem however is really to pick out the positives and negatives from a Ghanaian perspective.
On a historic night when the two nations met for the first time at senior level, the Black Stars sought to become the first African nation to beat the Three Lions of England after 16 previous attempts.
The Black Stars also dared a win at Wembley, something their brothers from Cameroun, Nigeria and Egypt tried and failed.
The Positives:
For me, the other positive contributions on the night apart from Derek Boateng, came from the young members of the 2009 Under-20 World Championship winning team.
They proved that the Black Stars would have no problems with depth required of any top level side.
Jonathan Mensah once again proved that for many years to come there would be an ever present Mensah (one without a punk though) in central defense.
His assured defensive duties, not the kind that puts you on edge, always make him a delight to watch. It’s that quality that could make him finally displace the very physical yet untidy Isaac Vorsah whom he replaced at half time.
Oh yes, I know he missed a one-on-one early in the game but Dominic Adiyiah’s total output on the night was encouraging. He was very mobile and duly supported John Pantsil, another player who was quite efficient on the night. You cannot question the Adiyiah’s commitment.
Not for someone who skipped his Dad’s funeral to play Sunday’s qualifier and this friendly. Dominic, my sincerest condolences and congratulations for demonstrating the spirit of a Black Star!
Head coach Goran ''Plavi" Stevanovic's soaring popularity rose another notch. On Tuesday night he displayed technical astuteness by making inspired changes at half time; changes that turned the game in the Stars’ favour. Wanting to take off Lee Addy at left back, Plavi only had two conventional right backs to pick from. One would have thought that Samuel Inkoom, who has featured in that position a couple of times, would have gotten the nod ahead of Daniel Opare. But Plavi must have spotted Opare’s versatility and aptly thrust him into the game. Opare repaid that faith by nullifying Stewart Downing and practically sealed the leak for the rest of the game.
Plavi must have also injected Derek Boateng with tons of confidence seeing the way the Getafe man played with ''Swagger''. From his deep lying position, Boateng protected the defense and engineered several attacks from the base of the midfield quite remarkably. His industry also freed Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu to surge forward which ensured the English were pressed higher up the pitch.
Plavi is obviously building on his predecessor’s injection of solid defensive and tactical organization by introducing a pro attacking formation of 4-1-4-1 which can easily switch to a 4-5-1 when the team loses possession.
Clearly a player like Dominic Adiyiah who has played in all of Plavi’s three matches and scored two goals is vital in Plavi’s tactics not only for his mobility but his eye for goal. This system is already yielding fruits.
Two wins and a draw out of 3 matches is impressive especially with the Stars beginning to score goals (8 in the last 3 games). So far so good for Plavi and I hope that he would keep his head up and win trophies like he has promised.
Credit also goes to Asamoah Gyan for scoring an exquisite goal that will linger on Ghanaian memories for a long time to come.
I have a question though. Is this goal redemptive enough for Ghanaians to forgive him for missing that crucial penalty at the world cup?
The Negatives:
It is also prudent to point out the negatives on the night. The Black Stars’ inability to make use of several set pieces won should be a genuine concern for Plavi and his technical men.
It must also be pointed out that though Opare did well in his makeshift role, he is no permanent solution at left back. A substantive left back as a matter of urgency must be found and found quickly.
Sunderland’s Danny Welbeck born to Ghanaian parents but nurtured and socialized in England had until Tuesday night been torn between Ghana and England. He however made his debut in an England shirt much to the chagrin of Ghanaian fans who booed him when he came on late in the game.
Well the message is clear, the man or is it boy (aged 20 years) with a rare combination of a poacher’s instincts and creative spark feels English and so is his allegiance.
Tough on Ghana huh, but tell you what, there are several Danny Welbecks out there. You don’t have to even look beyond the Richmond Boakye Yiadoms and Jordan Ayews to find burgeoning Ghanaian talents sprawled all over the world especially in Italy.
So Brethren, kindly leave Danny Nii Tackie Welbeck alone, he would rather order salad than kenkey.
Conclusion:
Thumbs-up to the travelling Ghanaian fans for providing a colourful and festive atmosphere at the stadium, something the English media have not failed to notice.
All in all, it was a friendly worth the trouble and it couldn’t have ended more dramatically than Gyan’s equalizer.
That goal summed up the night: exhilarating! Yes it was humble pie notwithstanding. I just finished the last chunk. Were you served any?
Nii Ayitey Tetteh