Sports
Samartex, Nsoatreman cautious ahead of 2nd leg CAF ties
Emmanuel Mamah- Samartex FC
Ghana’s CAF continental club competition campaigners, Samartex FC and Nsoatreman FC, will look to finish off a successful first test in the first round of the preliminary stage of the Champions League and the Confederations Cup competitions this weekend when they take on their respective opponents.
Premier League champions, Samartex FC, will face Victoria United today in a second leg clash after earning a vital 1-0 away victory last week at the Douala Japoma Stadium in Cameroon.
FA Cup winners, Nsoatreman FC,also trounced visiting 10-man,Elect-Sports FC, from Chad 3-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Ghanaians expect to see both clubs sail through to the next round, but the coaches of the two sides are cautious.
For Samartex FC Head Coach, Nurudeen Amadu, tomorrow’s game will be approached as if there was no first-leg victory.
The winner of the tie will face either AS GardeNationaleNigérienne (AS GNN) of Niger or Raja Club Athletic in the second round in September. Raja Club Athletic take a 2-1 lead into the second leg this weekend in Morocco.
In faraway Cameroon today, Nsoatreman will aim to protect their 3-0 lead when they play as guests of Elect-Sports.
The coach of the side, Yaw Preko, has described the game as a very crucial one.
Coach Preko believes the game would be tough, judging by the standards Elect-Sports showed in the second half even with a man down.
The winner of the tie would face the winner of the CS Constantine of Algeria versus Police FC of Rwanda game. CS Constantine carry a 2-0 advantage into the second leg this weekend in Rwanda.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
Sports
Samartex up for Raja challenge
Coach Nurudeen Amadu
CAF Champions League campaigners, Samartex FC, will tomorrow face Moroccan giants, Raja Casablanca, in the second round preliminary stage first leg match at the Accra Sports Stadium at 3pm.
Samartex secured passage to the second round after beating Cameroonian champions, Victoria United, 1-0 in both home and away fixtures.
Raja qualified to this stage after ‘dismantling’ Nigerien side, Association Sportive de la Garde Nationale Nigérienne, (AS GNN) 7-1 on aggregate.
Samartex is reminiscing a chance to battle one of Africa’s greatest sides en route to playing at the group stages of the competition.
Ghanaians are well aware of the daunting task that face the current league champions but remain hopeful Samartex has what it takes to combat Raja.
Coach Amadu says they are unfased by the fire power of the visitors and has a plan to deal with the visitors.
Speaking ahead of the game, coach Amadu stated that, “Raja Casablanca scoring seven goals does not scare us; this is football and anything can happened. We know that it is going to be a very tough game, but we are ready for the task.”
Having drawn blank in their first league game which served as preparation for tomorrow’s game, Coach Amadu would be hoping Baba Hamadu Musa, Emmanuel Mamah, Michael Ephson and Isaac Afful have a good day in front of goal to take their chances.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
Sports
Up your game, Stars
Black Stars players celebrate a goal
Four days after Ghana’s pride as a football nation was punctured badly at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, fans kept hopes alive, believing that the Black Stars would bounce back with a victory over Niger at a neutral venue.
But that was not to be as the team stumbled again, conceding a late goal by the Nigeriens to deny the Black Stars a vital three points to revive their campaign to Morocco 2025 AFCON.
The two heartbreaks contributed to make the week one that football fans would want to erase from their memories.
Without any major achievement in recent years from the Black Stars, Ghanaians have guarded jealously a striking, remarkable and enviable record of making the Baba Yara Stadium venue a fortress for over 20 years.
Statistically, Ghana has been unbeaten in the last 24 years at the venue. That should be enough confidence booster for any faint-hearted fan.
But to see that record torn into pieces by a country not considered as a powerhouse is certainly a bitter pill to swallow.
The fans reacted aggressively following the shock defeat by causing destruction to facilities in the stadium, an action that cannot be justified but it is important to also state how unacceptable it was.
With those points lost, attention switched to a do-or-die battle against Niger at a neutral ground.
Despite the poor show in the first game, a bit of confidence prevailed ahead of the Niger game.
That stemmed from the blame game by officialdom on the quality of the pitch at the Kumasi Stadium. Photos and videos of the Berkane pitch suddenly dominated social media space, giving the hope that fans were about to see the Black Stars all expected.
Indeed, they showed glimpses of that but like it is always said, the end justifies the means.
Despite taking a first half lead from defender Alidu Seidu, the Stars went to sleep while the Nigeriens took over and stunned with the equaliser.
That was a blow too heavy for the fans to take and exposed what looks like a team lacking quality on the field and the bench.
Truth be told, watching the Black Stars is becoming a hell of a task for a lot of fans. Getting good pitches to play on has become a challenge. That is compounded by the poor display from the same players that performs incredibly with their respective teams abroad.
For Otto Addo, he is fast losing the confidence fans had in him and the earlier he ends the trend, the better would it be for him.
Struggling with AFCON qualifiers is not a good signal because it is the same matches all other countries are using to test their strength ahead of the World Cup qualifiers which would demand far more than what is at stake now.
By Andrew Nortey
