The senior national team, the Black Stars, took a giant step towards the group phase of the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying series after labouring to dispose of a tactically disciplined Comoros side via a 2-0 aggregate.
Having drawn goalless in the first leg away last Friday, the Stars needed a vital home win against the Comorians at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi yesterday to advance to the next stage of the African qualifiers and a goal in each half by Mubarak Wakaso and Jordan Ayew made victory certain.
However, even in victory, yesterday’s performance could not be described as a vintage one by the Stars, as they left Ghanaians sitting on thorns till five minutes to the end when Jordan scrambled his way through the Comoros defence to drill the final nail into the opponents’ coffin.
The 2-0 win notwithstanding, the Stars would be the first to admit that they were given a good run for their money by the little known Islanders who won the respect of many a Ghanaian fan with their gallantry and appreciable level of quality in the game.
While congratulating Coach Avram Grant and his men on marching on in the qualifiers, it is pertinent to note that the Stars have a lot of work to do to ensure a fourth straight appearance at the Mundial, after Germany 2006, South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014.
To put it bluntly, the Stars’ output over the two legs against the less-fancied Comoros was a far cry from the stuff which propelled them to the final of the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea. This means they certainly need to lift their game in order to survive the more competitive group stage.
Trivial as it may seem, we still believe the raging controversy over the team’s winning bonus might have affected the Stars’ performance on the field of play, considering the revolt staged by the players to press for their unpaid bonuses prior to the first leg.
As of now, it is still uncertain as to whether the players are going to receive $10,000 or $5,000 each as winning bonus for yesterday’s win. We would advise the government, and for that matter the Ministry of Youth and Sports, to do everything possible to resolve this sensitive issue before the start of the crucial group matches.
In the same vein, we wish to admonish the playing body to consider any amount to be agreed upon finally as winning bonus as being good enough and give of their best to make the nation proud again during the qualifiers.
We daresay that this is the time they need to focus on the task ahead and leave the issue of bonus to the Black Stars Management Committee and the ministry to work it out.
We also charge Coach Grant to comb the globe and assemble the best Ghanaian materials available to ensure another World Cup berth which is high on the national agenda.
Source: Daily Graphic