Annor Walker was disappointed and frustrated after the late goal – Black Galaxies assistant coach Kobby Mensah on Nigeria game
Assistant coach of the Black Galaxies of Ghana, Bismark Kobby Mensah has disclosed the feeling at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja when the team conceded a late goal against Green Eagles of Nigeria in the 2023 CHAN qualifiers.
Ghana defeated Nigeria 5:4 on penalty shootouts at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja after a 2:2 aggregate scoreline in the last round of the 2023 CHAN qualifiers to secure a ticket to the main tournament to be held in Algeria.
The first leg ended 2:0 in favor of Ghana at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium and after conceding a first goal in the second half of the second leg in Abuja, Ghana was at the verge of making it to the tournament in the regulation period until a defensive blunder in the dying embers of the game gave the Nigerians the second goal.
Most Ghanaians were disappointed when the Nigerians scored the late goal however speaking to Beach FM’s Barak Mintah Brown in an interview, Bismark Kobby Mensah disclosed that the entire Ghana bench including the head coach Annor Walker were gutted and frustrated when the Nigerians netted the second goal to send the game to penalty shootouts.
“Myself and everybody at the bench was disappointed and I remember I have to encourage coach Annor Walker because at a point in time I saw that he was more disappointed than everyone at the bench, so I had to tell him that we will surely win the game just to motivate him before the penalty shootouts”, Kobby Mensah said.
It was the second time in a year that Ghana has denied Nigeria a qualification to a major international tournament after the Black Stars defeated the Super Green Eagles on away goal rule to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The Black Galaxies win means that Ghana, a former CHAN champions have returned to the tournament to be held in Algeria after three consecutive time of missing out
