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28.01.2015 Sports News

Stars Shine: 3 Observations from Ghana 2-1 South Africa

By Allsports.com.gh
Stars Shine: 3 Observations from Ghana 2-1 South Africa
28.01.2015 LISTEN

Grant makes the right call. Again.
They say a coach is as good as his substitutions and Avram Grant is doing himself no harm with some inspired changes at the AFCON.

After an opening loss to Senegal, Grant responded with Afriyie Acquah in midfield to offer his team some protection and drive and he delivered for forty five minutes.

In the second half he brought on Mubarak Wakaso to give his team a more attack-minded approach, which eventually resulted in a goal courtesy an assist from the midfielder.

Against South Africa he took off the ineffective Jordan Ayew and Afriyie Acquah again for Kwesi Appiah and Agyeman Badu respectively.

The substitutions brought energy and pace to a team that looked slow and lethargic in their approach. The passing was quicker and chances began to emerge.

Grant is proving himself a master at changing the course of games with his substitutes. Long may it continue.

Wakaso is built for the AFCON
Mubarak Wakaso loves the AFCON tournament, doesn't he? He seems to come alive every time the competition comes around.

After his impressive showing against Algeria as a substitute, he rightly started the South African encounter and repaid his coach's faith in him with a performance to remember.

How the man of the match award went to Christian Atsu instead of Mubarak Wakaso is a mystery only CAF officials can clarify.

The Celtic man put in a superb performance full of grit, power and attacking prowess that helped Ghana keep South Africa on the backfoot for large spells.

He will surely retain his place in the starting line-up, as Avram Grant slowly learns what his best set of starting players is.

Jordan Ayew needs to mature or get replaced
There are a host of players who have a lot to prove to Ghanaians after their failures at the World Cup. John Boye, and to some extent Mubarak Wakaso are doing just that at the moment.

The same cannot be said of Jordan Ayew, who again failed to turn up when it mattered most; and time is running out for him to show he is important to this team.

At the World Cup, he was slandered for his 'selfishness' and failure to release the ball early, and he doesn't seem to have learned from this.

He encapsulated the Black Stars poor use of possession in the final third and was rightly taken off for Kwasi Appiah in the last few minutes.

At this rate, it wouldn't come as a surprise to see him dropped for Ghana's quarter-final game; Grant has shown he has the balls to make significant changes to his team if need be.

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