Black Stars B aim to win WAFU Cup

Black Stars B defender, Amos Frimpong, is confident the team is on the path of hosting and winning this year’s WAFU competition as they play the Gambia in the opening game at the Cape Coast Stadium tomorrow.

The Kumasi Asante Kokoto skipper hinted that the team had put finishing touches to their preparation and were ready to enforce their superiority over Gambia’s Scorpions and win back the hearts of the Ghanaian fans.

Frimpong told the Graphic Sports in an interview yesterday that he was upbeat that the team would use this competition to redeem their image after crashing out of the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) to Burkina Faso on a 3-4 aggregate last month.

“We are looking forward to redeeming our image after missing out on the CHAN competition and we hope to do that with our game against the Gambia,” the right-back emphasised.

Although he anticipates a tough battle, the mood in camp together with the players’ determination was convincing enough for Frimpong to predict confidently that the team was ready to cut the Scorpions to size and make the nation proud once again.

“It is not going to be easy but what I have seen in camp and the morale of the players, I am convinced that we can win,” the defender said.

The Gambia have never posed any serious threat to Ghana at the senior level but are not expected to suffer another humiliating loss similar to the 7-1 they suffered at the hands of the Black Stars in an international friendly on January 17, 1978.

The Gambia’s 1-2 loss to the Black Stars during the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Banjul might not be fresh in the memory of the current team but they would be determined to avoid going down heavily to Coach Maxwell Konadu’s charges who have home advantage and start as favourites.

But the Gambia’s coach, Omar Sise, could be an instant hero in his country if he is able to guide his charges to turn the tide and halt Ghana’s dominance over them in tomorrow’s game.

Later in the evening, the focus will shift to the other preliminary round qualifier between Nigeria and Sierra Leone in what promises to be an exciting encounter.

On Sunday, Senegal take on Liberia in their eliminator, at the Cape Coast Stadium followed in the evening by a clash between Burkina Faso and Niger.