Carlos Queiroz believes two soft goals conceded just before half-time destroyed his team’s morale and turned the game against The Gambia.
The Black Stars were in total control at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday, leading 2-0 through Ernest Nuamah’s penalty and Felix Afena-Gyan’s low drive, and looked set for a big win.
But The Gambia pulled one back from the spot and grabbed an equaliser before the break, leaving the home side stunned.
“This was one of those days when everything went wrong for our team. Especially in the first half after we were leading 2-0. We conceded two goals very easily, and those two goals turned the story of the game around,” Queiroz said.
“At the moment we should have gone for an easy result in the second half, those two goals in the first half killed the morale and made my players nervous. That was one of the reasons we were not able to perform well in the second half.”
The Portuguese also responded to questions about his midfield choices and his reluctance to start new players, insisting he has never been afraid to throw in youngsters.
“Never in my life am I afraid to start a new player. Giving opportunities to players at 17, 18 years old has always been my benchmark,” he said.
Queiroz singled out substitutes Ibrahim Sulemana and Augustine Boakye for praise after they lifted the team after coming on.
“I think Ibrahim came very well into the game, he had a good performance in the second half. He brought the team forward. I think Augustine brought the team forward as well,” he noted.
On Boakye, who earned his first call-up under Queiroz for the World Cup, he added: “I called him for the first time to the national team for the World Cup. Everybody was surprised by that. Now you saw during the game, step by step, that he is a player who deserves to be here.”
He explained that with players short of minutes – including Kojo Oppong Peprah, Kwasi Sibo and Ibrahim Sulemana – he had to manage the squad carefully after starting the game with only two fit centre-backs.
“We have the best players available to play this game. When some of our players are not on fresh legs, we have to make decisions to have solutions,” Queiroz said.
