By Rahman Osman
Follow Rahman on Twitter: @iamrahmanosman
Ghana put up an unconvincing display against Guinea to draw 1-1 at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca but went top of Group E in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.Â
Captain Asamoah Gyan opened the scoring on 26 minutes through a well-drilled effort but Ibrahim Traore struck the equalizer ten minutes from time.
Jordan Ayew finally showing signs of maturity:
The youngest son of Ghana legend Abedi Pele has been touted as the perfect replacement for Asamoah Gyan since he shot to prominence two seasons ago. One criticism that has always been attributed to him is his lack of commitment and willingness to play as a team player but in this game he showed that he was willing to work on those default. He tracked back, tackled vigorously leading to him picking up a yellow card and got a deserved assist. He has been criticized a lot in recent time for his lack of commitment but with this performance he has shown he is willing to fulfil his true potential.
Kwadwo Asamoah fails to assert authority yet again.
Kwadwo Asamoah is arguably Ghana’s most consistent performer in Europe the past two years and clearly has the ability to be the engine of this current Black Stars set up. Many questioned the wisdom in playing the highly talent Juventus Star at left back during the World cup when he could inspire the team through the middle. Am sorry he is yet to prove Kwesi Appiah was wrong in playing him at left back. He showed signs of his brilliance in the game against Guinea a few flicks here and there and took the ball forward with ease when he wanted but it must be said he was a bit complacent too, especially in the build up to Ibrahim Traore’s equaliser, he more than any should know he cannot afford to lose the ball at that critical position.
Jonathan Mensah and Awal Mohammed continue to flourish at the heart of defence:
Both Awal and Mensah sniffed out all threat in the Guinean attack leaving them to find joy only at the flanks of the Ghana’s defence. The duo communicated well and handled all that the Guinean attack threw at them with ease. In the second half when Ghana decided to sit back and soak pressure Awal amd Mensah ensured they entertained no hostages with a fully committed performance that has made a huge case for future consideration even if Boye returns to the team. The pair were not at fault for the Guinean equaliser.
Andre Ayew and Asamoah Gyan added nothing to the game:
I am one of the fans of Andre Ayew not necessary for his talent but for his attitude to fight for the team and win ball back even if he loses them. But in this game am afraid he added nothing to the game. His passes were poor, added little dimension on the wings and showed little signs of fighting for the ball whenever he lost them. Captain Gyan scored but his output was unlike him. He looked jaded though and could not harass the Guinea which is a primary role for any attacker.
Maxwell Konadu fails to inspire confidence:
This was supposed to be the game that made Konadu’s stake to claim the Black Stars job on a permanent basis louder but it all came out wrongly. The decision to sit back, soak pressure and hit the Guinean’s on the break backfired as it exposed our lateral defenders Baba Rahman and Harrison Afful. Even with our below performance we nearly won the game when Waris’s effort hit the post late on. This shows that if we had taken the game to them instead of sitting back to soak pressure we could have scored more because their defence failed to deal with our few attacks.