2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Black Queens, Banyana in final dress rehearsal
Ghana's Black Queens and South Africa’s Banyana Banyana square on Sunday at the Accra Stadium as they both round up their preparations towards this year’s Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AFCON) set to kick off on November 17.
The match is not just a trial for the two sides; it is also significant as it is the official match scheduled to re-open the Accra Sports Stadium since it was shut down last March for refurbishment.
Sunday’s match is unlikely to attract the same pomp and pageantry that greeted a similar exercise 11 years ago when President J.A. Kufuor inaugurated the facility in time for the 2008 AFCON.
More importantly, the match presents Ghanaians a chance to assess on first hand what shape their team, Black Queens, are in ahead of their November 17 opener against Algeria.
The last week has seen the Queens play two international friendlies as they stepped up their final preparations, first a 2-3 loss to Zambia in Lusaka and last Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Kenya in Nairobi.
In both games, the real tests for Coach Bashir Hayford since he took charge saw the Queens succumb to Zambia after taking the lead, while they recovered to equalise in the Kenya game, courtesy a 77th minute strike from defender, Linda Eshun.
Against South Africa, who the Queens have played several times competitively but rarely in friendlies, Coach Hayford and his ladies must prove that they have built a character that can withstand any situation – taking the lead and holding on to it, or have the fighting spirit to stage a comeback.
Having both named their final squads for the tournament, the two coaches will perhaps use this last match to identify the rough edges that need to be smoothened out before their respective campaigns.
The two sides are in opposite groups at the upcoming tournament, Ghana in Group A and South Africa in Group B, so they need not go all out against each other on Sunday.
However, given the rivalry between the two sides, no one would want to play it ‘soft’ to give the other an advantage.
The last time Ghana and South Africa met was in Yaounde, where incidentally Eshun’s 48th minute header eventually separated the two sides and handed the third position of that tournament to the Ghanaians.
Now on paper, Desiree Ellis’s ladies look the better side, with the great transformation the team have undergone in the past two years – the 2016 Olympic Games, as well as several high profile international matches, the most recent being the retention of the 2018 COSAFA Cup last October, after earlier travelling to engage Chile in two friendlies in Santiago.
Coach Hayford was not in charge when his side played France (October 2017) and Japan (last April) both of which they lost and were not part of the qualifying campaign. Until the games against Zambia and Kenya, the team had not been put to a stern test.
That not withstanding, Coach Hayford believes his side are picking up and will put up a good show on Sunday.