Queens poised to tame Lionesses

Tomorrow, Ghana’s Black Queens host their Camerounian counterparts in the second leg of the second round of their 2016 Olympic qualifiers.

There is a lot at stake and this match could easily pass for the final of an African Women’s Championship, although both sides have their eyes focused on a place at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Indeed, it was the Camerounians who deprived the Queens of the chance to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics and the Ghanaians will be expected to approach tomorrow’s clash at the Accra Sports Stadium with revenge on their mind, while the Lionesses will hope to be lucky again.

Despite qualifying for World Cup tournaments, the Queens are yet to make an appearance at the Olympics and it is that determination not to miss out this time which is driving them to the point of avenging their painful loss four years ago. In that match, the two sides drew 1-1 in Accra and the Camerounians went on to win 1-0 in Yaounde to qualify.

For Yussif Basigi’s ladies, it is an opportunity for the Lionesses to have a taste of their own medicine.

By a twist of fate, the Queens have a fine chance to go through to the next round, having held the Camerounians to a 1-1 draw in Yaounde two weeks ago.

The Queens have been boosted with the presence of creative player, Elizabeth Addo, who arrived last night from Budapest Hungary where she plies her trade.

Addo has been a key part of the team that previously played Cameroun on a number of occasions and also scored some decisive goals which helped the Queens to qualify for this year’s All Africa Games in Brazzaville.

Despite the presence of Addo, Linda Eshun and Samira Suleman, coach Basigi is not taking anything for granted as he relishes a tough challenge from the Camerounians.

“This is a make or break match, as well as a golden chance for us to make progress in this Olympic qualifiers. We desperately want to qualify for our first Olympics and will do all we can to realise that dream,” he told the Graphic Sports.

“We have picked some important lessons from the first leg, but the result will not influence our game on Saturday. We will play as if the qualifiers have just started, which means playing for a win.”

It is not clear who will be in the starting line up, but from their training it is obvious that Basigi will opt for a more attacking game which will be initiated from the midfield.