Ghana’s Black Starlets clinched an impressive 5-1 win over Cote d’Ivoire in the WAFU B U-17 Cup of Nations opener at Legon Stadium.
Despite the victory, head coach Laryea Kingston expressed disappointment, feeling his team didn’t display the dominance he expected.
“Throughout this preparation, every team that we’ve played, we’ve dominated play. [In] our last tournament in Russia, we lost against Russia. First 15 minutes we were down 3-0 but we dominated play. Against Serbia, we dominated play, against Kazakhstan, we dominated play. [In] our friendly game against Niger, we dominated play as well,” said Kingston after the game.
“Today’s game, different opponent. Like I said, thumbs up to the Ivorians; they are a very good side. Of course, most of my boys, [this is the] first time playing such a competition on home soil. I felt they were a little bit jittery. So with that, we had to manage and then try to take something out and try to do our best.
“Sometimes, we tried to play one, two, three passes but for me, as a technical person, I’m not satisfied with the way we played.
He admitted the team didn’t play to their usual standard: “We didn’t dominate play today. We just got the results but in up-and-coming games, this is our style and you will see it in the way we play.”
Looking to their next match against Benin, Kingston stressed the need for improvement and a return to their dominant play.
