THE Black Satellites of Ghana on Tuesday beat their Malian counterpart 4-2 on a nail-biting penalty shootout to reach the final of the 2013 African Youth Championship (AYC) in Algeria.
Before the penalty shootout, the Satellites had to fight their way through a trilling game which was obviously dominated by the Malians. It is another exciting, historic victory that has warmed the hearts of all Ghanaians in the country, regardless of one?s background.
THE victory sentiment was echoed in cheers that erupted across the nation.
WHAT a great moment for Ghana football it was to see the team qualify for the AYC finals, especially as the Black Stars could not win any honours in the recent AFCON Games in South Africa. Prior to the tournament most Ghanaians did not give the Satellites a dog?s chance to get this far. Many were those who had not shown interest in the tournament, because of the disappointment of the senior national team, the Black Stars? in the 2013 AFCON tournament in South Africa. However, the Satellites rose to the occasion and have proven what they are made of and capable of doing if granted the necessary support.
WE on Today laud the efforts of Coach Sellas Tetteh whom, in our perspective, has so far performed creditably well. After losing to Egypt in the Satellites first game, the coach was able to psyche up his boys to beat Benin by one goal to nil and then beat host nation, Algeria, by two goals to nil to qualify for the semi-finals, where they defeated Mali.
THE coach did a great job. He is the only Ghanaian coach who brought Ghana the latest honour in football by winning the U-20 World Cup with the Satellite. In doing that he is the coach that, in recent times, has made the case for the GFA to give national teams into the hands of Ghanaian coaches. We thus urge him to repeat the dose and certify forever the case for Ghanaian coaches.
This is the time for football fans, students, politicians, and all Ghanaians to rally round the team and cheer them to a win in the final.
THE players, by their performance so far, have resolved to make amends from the abysmal performance the 2011 batch showed in South Africa two years ago when the team participated as the defending champions. As the Satellites face the Egyptians once again, this time in the finals, on Saturday, we are hopeful that our boys will put the initial defeat behind them and play above themselves to win the ultimate trophy. We have absolute confidence that the Satellites, will this time around, not succumb to another defeat from the Egyptians.
WE on TODAY caution the Satellites to be tactically disciplined and focused throughout the game to ensure victory for Ghana. That is the only way to clinch trophy for the fourth time on the African continent. We also urge team management and the technical staff to put their acts
together for a winning performance. Finally this the time for the Satellites to win the trophy and go down in history as the first team in the world to clinch two U-20 titles, world and Africa, back-to-back.
