Ghana head coach Kassim Ocansey has urged the Black Starlets to improve despite their 3-1 win over Benin at the WAFU B U17 Championship.
The result was Ghana’s second consecutive victory in the competition and strengthened their hopes of reaching the next stage. However, Ocansey said his players had allowed the match to become more difficult after failing to maintain their focus following a 2-0 lead.
“It means we have done a great job and we are satisfied. We lost concentration after we took the 2-0 lead and allowed Benin to come into the game and they got their goal,” he said.
Ghana responded positively after Benin’s goal, with Ocansey pleased that his side regained control in the second half and added a third.
“But it was good we came back stronger in the second half to finish the game with the third goal,” he added.
The coach also welcomed the progress made in front of goal after finishing had been a key area of work during training before the match.
Ghana created a number of chances against Benin and, although Ocansey felt his team could have scored more than three, he was satisfied with the attacking return.
“We could have scored more than three, but Alhamdulillah we are okay. We worked on goalscoring at training, and we have scored three today so we are okay,” he said.
Ocansey believes taking advantage of opportunities remains important, but acknowledged that Ghana still have areas to address during the rest of the tournament.
“If your team creates chances and they end up scoring three, it’s okay, but there is more room for improvement,” he said.
The victory gives the Black Starlets further momentum as they continue their WAFU B U17 Championship campaign. Ocansey and his technical team will now focus on building on the successive wins while working to eliminate lapses in concentration and make the team more efficient in attack.
Despite the need for improvement, Ghana’s latest performance delivered another positive result and kept their hopes of progressing in the competition on course.