After an emphatic 3-0 victory over Togo last Friday, Ghana’s Black Starlets will be seeking to book a ticket to the grand finale when they turn their attention to Burkina Faso in the semi-finals of the WAFU Zone B Nations Cup in Cape Coast today.
The national under-17 side made a jerky start to their campaign but are gradually warming themselves into the tournament, having recovered well from disappointing 2-4 loss to Nigeria in the opening match to record a resounding 3-0 over Togo which earned them a ticket to the semis and are determined to make it to the final to guarantee a place in the African U-17 Cup of Nations in Algeria next year.
With their confidence boosted from that win over Togo, the Starlets are expected to put up an improved performance as the competition progresses to ensure a return to the continental competition after missing out in the previous gathering.
Strategy
According to Coach Paa Kwesi Fabin, he has mapped out a strategy that would enable the team defeat their opponent in tomorrow’s semi-final clash having finished second in Group A behind Nigeria who topped the Group with six points.
After securing a semi-final spot, 63-year-old Fabin admitted that his side wasted a lot of scoring chances against Togo and would, therefore, fall on the services of a video analyst to help them resolve the problems ahead of their encounter with Burkina Faso.
‘After a match like this, we have to go back, we have a video analyst who will come and break it down for us and we’ll see where we fell short and we’ll work on it for the next game”, he noted.
Burkina Faso got to this stage after producing a magnificent comeback from two goals down to beat Cote d’Ivoire 4-2 to finish top of Group B and the opportunity to play the host.
Even though the Starlets remain favourites for this encounter, the Burkinabes have been impressive in the competition and would seek to draw inspiration from their under-20 side who denied Ghana’s Black Satellites a place in the next continental competition with a 2-1 victory last month.
Ghana, one of the most successful juvenile sides in continental football with two wins (1995, 1999) in seven appearances, will face the threat of free-scoring Burkina Faso side who are expected to field danger man, Ousmane Kamara, who scored their first goal of the tournament.
Coach Fabin’s charges will have to keep a close eye on Kamara to ensure they give him as little room as possible to operate and to keep him in check.
Credit: Graphic Online
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