Ghanaians demand a lot from Jordan Ayew - Andre defends brother

Ghana captain Andre Ayew has stated team-mate and younger brother Jordan will take a personal assessment of his own performance in Thursday’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa.

Although highly commended for his work rate, the Crystal Palace striker was criticised for selfish play and a lack of precision with final balls as the Black Stars secured a 2-0 home triumph in the Group C tie.

Goals from Thomas Partey and Mohammed Kudus decided the fixture at Cape Coast Stadium.

“He [Jordan] is a striker and we demand a lot from him,” Andre explained at the post-match press conference.

“He has to keep going and working. He has to try, make mistakes and try again. That’s the game. At the end of the day, we need players that will take initiatives. Emmanuel [Boateng] did that a few times, Jordan did that.

“We need initiatives if we want to score goals. Sometimes, [it was] too much, sometimes not, but you have to make mistakes so he’ll also go and watch the game again to see what he did right and wrong.”

The older Ayew also shed light on his role during the game, offering some tactical insight into their approach.

“I felt very comfortable [in my role]. It was a great game. I’m very happy with the performance of the boys and myself personally,” said the Swansea City man.

“You can see the South Africans’ right and left midfielders were always in the middle [of the park]. So we also had to pack the middle, or else they will be playing four [men] against [Iddrisu] Baba and Thomas. So we also had to pack.

“We knew that we had quality so if we’re able to pack our midfield and win the ball, we can find a way to score. So our plan worked and we’re happy. We hope the next match goes the same way.”

Ghana have moved second of the table, just below Sudan who handed Sao Tome and Principe a 4-0 thrashing in the other group fixture.

The Black Stars next play Sao Tome away on Tuesday.