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Great friendlies, weighty lessons
● Kamaldeen Sulemana and Kudus giving Neymar
no breathing space in the Brazil
friendly on September 23
By now, majority of football-following Ghanaians may have been given an unmistakable peep into what to expect of the Black Stars at the forthcoming Qatar World Cup with the two friendlies played ahead of the Mundial.
First, it was against the ‘Almighty’ Brazil, a game that sent tongues wagging on the performance of certain players in the 3-0 defeat. The Stars slumped under three goals in a terrible, white-bread opening half that saw grave defensive frailties and tactical deficiency on the part of the Ghanaians.
It may have been a huge credit to the team that they did not concede after the recess as they demonstrated a more mature display with gleaming ball possession.
Defeat to Brazil was not unexpected; but many disciples of Ghana football may not have anticipated the crushing scoreline. For a side that has lost four times to the South American five-time world champions already, many may have thought of seeing a hungrier and more determined Ghana team. The Brazil supreme quality, nonetheless, it seems the Stars gave too much reverence to their opponents – with head coach Otto Addo also getting his tactics wrong from the get-go.
A 4-2-3-1 system of play was palpably difficult for the players to adapt. It was not too clear whether they had been practicing that system ahead of the game. It did not seem so. Indeed, when he decided to abandon that style in favour of a 3-5-2 formation after the break, the Ghanaians came into the evening strongly as the likes of Inaki Williams, Tariq Lamptey, Mohammed Salisu and others dashed to their debut appearance for the 2010 World Cup quarter finalists.
It was no surprise when Addo admitted he made some mistakes and hopefully, one hopes he picks up some vital lessons on the way before the tournament proper.
On Tuesday, the Stars showed huge improvement in their second friendly with a 1-0 win over the Los Pinoleros of Nicaragua at the Estadio Artes Carrasco Lorca in Spain. Goalscorer Abdul Fatawu Issahaku’s phenomenal left-footed curler settled matters in a game the Stars could have ran amok, but were let down by their own profligacy. Creating more than 10 opportunities and making use of just one, is really disappointing, to say the least.
It was great, though, seeing lots of new faces in this particular game as the likes of Skipper Andre Ayew and brother Jordan, Felix Afena-Gyan, Baba Rahman and others were benched.
Disconsolately, many Ghanaians were left stunned to see Hearts of Oak’s Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Germany-based Ransford Osei specifically, being brought on after the stipulated time. What were the late substitutions meant to achieve?
Again, somebody needs to tell Mohammed Kudus that he hangs on the ball for too long. He was overly individualistic against Nicaragua and on certain occasions, one feared he was going to pick up a nasty injury that could rule him out of Qatar.
Anyway, next on the way is Switzerland which the Stars oblige in their final friendly, seven days prior to their first game in Qatar. The Swiss themselves have a crunch date against Brazil in Group C – and would be eager to put their best foot forward against the Ghanaians.
Having said that, it is imperative to give the Stars some patience and throw our full weight behind them. This is a team in transition and requires time to blossom into a cohesive force. Against all odds, the boys crushed their way to the World Cup – we have to give the technical crew the needed backing as they move to strengthen the team.
Perhaps, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) must be commended for the bold decision to take on the World’s Number One-ranked nation, Brazil, this early in the remolding process. Though it was a Himalayan assignment, that game in particular may have given the handlers a stronger sense of the task ahead.
Remember, only the Ayew brothers in this new-look team have a World Cup experience, and it tells you the humongous task ahead.
The Stars take on Portugal on November 24, South Korea on November 28, and Uruguay on December 2 in Qatar, hoping the friendlies would have positive impact in the Mundial.
Per what we have seen so far, nevertheless, we can only manage our expectations. Those who perceive revenge over Uruguay must now begin to take it easy. We are not there yet!
PlainTalk With John Vigah
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
