Black Stars can’t fail against Togo

A beleaguered Ghana Black Stars team will today go in search of a morale-boosting victory when they battle the Hawks of Togo in front of a largely partisan crowd at the 30,000-capacity Stade de  Kégué in Lome, Togo.

For the Stars, a potentially hostile Togolese crowd would not be a new challenge since they began their qualification for the 2015 African Cup of Nations last Saturday with a home game against Uganda at the Baba Yara Stadium. The determination to bounce back to winning ways and reclaim their place in the hearts of Ghanaians appears to be a key factor in today’s clash, as Coach Kwasi Appiah looks for his first competitive victory in nearly a year since his side’s 6-1 win over Egypt in a World Cup qualifying playoff in Kumasi last October.

In last Sunday’s qualifier which ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw, the Stars suffered jeers from fans intent on expressing their displeasure at the team’s abysmal showing and bad player attitude at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

The draw earned Appiah’s charges a point and left them in second-place behind Group E leaders, Guinea who were 2-1 winners over a Togo side without their talisman Emmanuel Adebayor. 

However, the Tottenham Hotspur hitman is hopeful of making a return from injury against the Stars, who lost defender John Boye to injury in their final training session on Monday before emplaning to Togo.

In the last five encounters between the two teams, the Black Stars had won three games and lost twice against the Togolese, who suffered a 1-4 hammering at the hands of their Ghanaian rivals in an international friendly in Antwerp, Belgium three years ago. It was the last clash between the two sides who had played each other 27 times with the Ghanaians having 12 wins and six draws.

For Stars coach Appiah, however, a loss today could be the final straw as rumours of his impending dismissal abound, following the arrival in the country last Monday of Serbian trainer, Milovan Rajevac, who has been linked to the top job despite being shortlisted as one of two candidates for the role of “technical advisor” to Appiah.