Ghana’s U20 side – Black Satellites – suffered a painful 2-1 defeat to Premier League side Accra Hearts of Oak at the Tema Sports Stadium on Saturday in a friendly.
A brace from new boy Kofi Kordzi was all that the Phobians needed to hand the AFCON-bound side another defeat in three days after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Dreams FC on Thursday.
FootballMadeInGhana.com takes a look at the performance of both teams during the game and how their players fared.
Players’ performances are scored out of ten with one being the lowest.
Ghana U20 (Black Satellites)
1. Danlad Ibrahim (GK) – 4
He played well. His kicks were apt and his communication to the team was on point. His outings were good and despite conceding two goals, he wasn’t bad.
2. Najeeb Alhassan – 3
Not very impressive in the game. He was defensively poor and hardly contributed to attack. He hardly sent in any cross throughout the game. He looked tired from the start of the game.
3. Montari Kamahene – 4
Started the game well, defended greatly and cancelled out Hearts wide man Anthony Quayson. He sent in some amazing crosses but got injured after the half hour mark and was forced out of the game.
4. Amankwah Yeboah – 3
He was lethargic, hardly run and could not kick the ball well. He showed signs of tiredness from start of the game until he was substituted in the second half. His tackles were poor and did not show the speed of a center back.
5. Gideon Mensah – 6
Played very well and kept Joseph Esso in good check. He was defensively good and had good control of the ball despite playing as a center back. His distribution was great and exhibited great quality in taking set pieces. But for the blunder that gave Hearts their second goal, he would have had a flawless outing.
6. Prosper Ahiabu – 3
He hardly won any tackle in midfield. His ball distribution and tackles were as poor as his total output.
7. Emmanuel Toku – 5
Toku had a fairly good game. His crosses in the first half and take-ons were encouraging. He posed some problems for Hearts’ William Denkyi but the Hearts left back was up to the task. He controlled the game for the Satellites in the first half but was poor with the final delivery.
8. Emmanuel Kumah – 6
Had a great game. Showed a lot of energy. His ball distribution was good and total team play was apt. He however, loved licking around the ball instead of releasing. He had a problem with decision making.
9. Daniel Lomotey – 3
He hardly got a shot on target. He struggled to find his feet against Agyare and Hassan Mohammed.
10. Sadiq Ibrahim – 6
He also had a fairly good game. He had good control of the ball, showed a lot of skill and intelligence with the ball. He tried a few shots on target.
11. Enock Atta Agyei – 3
He hardly influenced the game. Took awful free kicks and hardly gave some crosses.
Substitutes
Maxwell Arthur – 4
Came on in the second half, attacked very well and defended nicely. His crosses were on point.
Fard Ibrahim – 4
He came for Montari who was injured in the first half and played well. He was strong and resilient but he lacked skill and couldn’t surge forward with the ball to support the attack.
Nathaniel Adjei – 3
He played for only five minutes in the game but had a great influence on the game. He scored the only goal for the Satellites.
Frank Arhin – 4
Was fluid and swift with the ball. His skill and speed left the Hearts defenders at sixes and sevens but he came on late, with 20 minutes to end the game.
Gabriel Leveh – 3
Leveh was deployed to an unusual position to play as a holding midfielder instead of a winger. He struggled when he came on.
Saliw Babawo – 5
Played only 15 minutes but got two shots on target and forced a corner kick that gave the Satellites their only goal.
Nii Armah – 3
Was strong when he came on and distributed very well. He was combative and won some tackles. But he only lasted for ten minutes in the game.
Isaac Atanga – 2
He played as if he didn’t know why he was on the field. He couldn’t string passes together and couldn’t find a shot on target after coming on for Lomotey.
Hearts of Oak
1. Richmond Ayi – 4
Did not see much of the ball but was composed in the sticks. He made some brilliant saves in the first half.
2. Fatawu Mohammed – 4
He played as a wing back but hardly made some crosses. He was deep in midfield and defended more than attacking.
3. William Denkyi – 6
He played on the left side of the Hearts three-back defence. He was good with the ball, crossed very well and tackled nicely.
4. Benjamin Agyare – 5
He made a lot of mistakes as a result of overconfidence. But was lucky he was not punished. He was however good in the aerial tussles.
5. Hassan Mohammed – 6
Was good with the ball and distributed very well. He kept a close eye on Lomotey and closed him out of the game. He looked smart and covered Agyare well.
6. Aminu Alhassan – 6
Great work rate, very aggressive and was always ready to break his opponent’s attack. His distribution was apt.
7. Anthony Quayson – 2
Very poor performance. He was virtually a passenger in the game. No input in the game, hardly tackled and couldn’t pass a ball correct for once.
8. Benjamin Afutu – 6
He had a great game. He tackled well and distributed nicely. His height gave him an advantage over his markers. He had good skill and looked promising.
9. Joseph Esso – 6
Showed a lot of promise at the start of the game. Had a few shots on target showed a lot of energy.
10. Charles MacKarthy – 5
Not too productive in the game and was not positioning himself well. He hardly run to space for the ball and failed to provide Esso the right support.
11. Kojo Obeng Jnr – 4
He started the game with a lot of energy and promise, made some few incursions and crosses. But his fire died out too early in the game.
Substitutes
Manaf Umar – 5
Came on from the bench with a lot of influence. He was quick with the ball and smart too. He showed a lot of intelligence.
Selassie Bakai – 3
Failed to influence the game after coming on. He hardly got a shot on target and failed to turn in some crosses from the flanks.
Camara Nguessan – 5
Came on with 20 minutes to end the game but had a huge influence. He weaved the midfield well and distributed the ball well. He was combative too.
Daniel Kodie – 4
Came on with 15 minutes to end the game and pulled two important crosses, one resulting in a goal. He played on the flanks and fought deep in midfield.
Kofi Kordzi – 7
Came on with about 25 minutes to go but was the most influential player in the game. He grabbed the brace for Hearts to win the game for them.
