Ghana coach Otto Addo says the Black Stars’ narrow 2-1 loss to Nigeria in the Unity Cup semifinal was not all doom and gloom, highlighting the progress of some debutants and young talents in the team.
Substitute Brandon Thomas-Asante made a notable impression, coming off the bench to score Ghana’s only goal and ignite a late surge that kept Nigeria on edge until the final whistle.
Thomas-Asante and Yirenkyi were both introduced at the start of the second half, replacing Kwame Opoku and Kamaradini Mamudu.
Aaron Essel, Mohammed Fuseini, and Christopher Bonsu Baah were also handed their national team debut.
“For me as a coach, we got some answers about players. Some young players did really well and yeah, we are still learning and trying to improve. I think we got a whole lot of answers from our coaching staff and yeah, we have to continue,” Addo said after the game.
Ghana will now battle Trinidad and Tobago for third place on Saturday, May 31, while Nigeria face Jamaica in the final of the four-nation tournament.
