Black Stars' strong mentality excites coach Appiah

Published on: 14 January 2013

Ghana coach Akwasi Appiah says he is excited with the developing character of the Black Stars ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Black Stars rallied from two goals down to beat Tunisia 4-2 in the side’s final warm up game ahead of the tournament being hosted in South Africa.

The win over Tunisia comes off the heels of another impressive 3-0 win over Egypt in the first friendly match played.

The Black Stars have now scored seven goals and conceded two in the two warm up games ahead of the team’s departure to South Africa on Wednesday.

And coach Appiah says he is happy with the developing strong mentality of his players especially following the flamboyant second half display in the Tunisia win.

“When we lost the ball, our defensive roles were a bit slow and we conceded two goals out of it,” he said.

“We created some chances in the first half which we could not put it in.

“It is important that once you are down by two goals you change your mentality when going into the second half.

“I did make some changes in the second half and those who came in their mentality was very high, their fighting spirit was very high.

“As you saw, when we were even leading four goals they were still fighting to try and get  more goals and that is what I expect from them.

“It was one good thing I was really happy especially in the second half.

“It was like kicking everybody at the end of the first half and when they went in to display what I really expected of them.

“To make sure that we play and don’t allow them to play and secondly to make sure that when you are leading by four you still need to fight until the final whistle. ”

The Black Stars are expected to arrive in South Africa on Wednesday ahead of their Group D opener against DR Congo four days later in Port Elizabeth.

Source: MTNFootball.com

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