Titanic clash! Stars against Eagles

Ghana’s rivalry with Nigeria will be rekindled today when the  Black Stars lock horns with their Nigerian counterparts in a very cagey semi-final clash at the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) in South Africa.

The spectacular performance of Nigeria against Morocco in their quarter-final encounter speaks volumes of the current form of the Super Eagles.

In that match, Nigeria, trailing 0-3,  defied all odds by putting  up a splendid performance that  turned  the near defeat into victory with a 4-3 win over Morocco .

Unlike the Super Eagles, the Black Stars struggled to beat arch-rivals D R Congo by a lone goal, courtesy a penalty kick converted by defender Kwabena Adusei.

Matches between Ghana and Nigeria over the years have however,  defied current form. That is why the Black Stars cannot be written off in their semi-final encounter with their big brothers.

A cursory look at the performance of the local Black Stars in the ongoing tournamnet does not appear convincing, as they seem to be riding on the back of luck.

This is because the Black Stars only managed to beat Congo Brazzaville by a lone goal in their first group match, drew 1:1 with Libya, after which they  ditched Ethiopia also by a lone goal, courtesy another penalty kick converted by Kwabena Adusei that put Ghana into the quater finals.

Nigeria on the other hand, lost to Mali 2:1 in their first game, but quickly recovered  to beat Mozambique 4:2 in their second encounter and edged out the host nation South Africa, with a painful 3:1 defeat.

The motivation derived by Nigeria after sending the host nation packing was enough to propel them to showcase a master-class by coming from a 0-3 goal down against Morroco in the first half to win 4:3 

With the likes of Ugonna Uzochukwu, Rabiu Ali, Ezike Uzoenyi and Aliyu Ibrahim, finding their scoring boots, Nigeria are expected to be in their elements against Ghana who have not been impressive  in converting goal scoring oportunities.

Notwithstanding the lacklustre performance of the Stars, they have conceeded only one goal in the four games played so far, while Nigeria have conceeded eight goals in four matches.

 This statistic is an indication that, while Nigeria have potent strikers, they have an equally poor defence which the Stars can take advantage of when the need arises.

The expectation is that skipper Jordan Opoku and Michael Akuffo  will combine very well in midfield with Asiedu Attobrah and Theophilus Anobaah supplying  lead striker,  Yahaya Mohammed, to deliver the goals. 

Without any injury worries for Coach Maxwell Konadu, he is expected to parade the best players and vary his tactics today against Nigeria by keeping faith with goalkeeper, Stephen Adams.

He should also tighten the defence with the likes of Godfred Saka, who is back from suspension, hatchet man Nuru Sulley, and Kwabena Adusei to neutralise the attack of the Nigerians. 

Coach Konadu must also  consider sharpening  his attack by introducing players with the nerve to hold their own against Nigeria.

If the Stars want to win the ultimate as they assured Ghanaians before the tournament got underway, the Super Eagles should be brushed aside today, no matter the forces they assemble.