Stars fired up for action

From: William Dodzi Ezah, GNA Special Correspondent; Pretoria, South Africa

Pretoria, June 17, GNA - The Black Stars of Ghana are fired up for action as morale is very high in camp ahead of another crucial encounter against Australia in the second Group D game at Rustenburg Stadium on Saturday.


A visit to the training grounds of the Team on Wednesday evening saw all the players in very high spirits, though fully aware of the difficult task ahead of them on Saturday.


According to the players, they were convinced that winning the game would be the key to their qualification to the next stage of the competition, and that they were not prepared to allow any form of complacency to eat into their heads as it is being speculated after the first win over Serbia. Rather, they expressed their readiness to go all out to secure the much needed victory for the Team. The players were of the view that they carried the hope of the entire Continent in the competition, especially when other Africa countries seemed to be having a very tough competition, and that with the dreams of South Africa apparently nearing its end after the 0-3 loss to Uruguay, the Stars were in no mood to break the heart of the Continent.


Midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah, who battled with fitness in the opening game, told the GNA Sports that, he was very fit for Saturday's task, adding that his output at training on Wednesday evening was a clear indication of his level of fitness.


He said he and his colleagues were determined to see Ghana through to the next stage of the competition, in order to go into the history books, again, as the first African country to qualify for the knock out stage of the competition.


Asamoah, who since the Nations Cup in Angola early this year, had remained the Team's midfield engine, called on Ghanaians to remain calm and not to panic, but to rally behind them with prayers because they would make the nation and Africa proud.

Defender John Painstil also expressed similar sentiments, saying the Team had set a semi-final berth at the competition as its target and that it would go the extra mile to achieve it. He stressed that it was the Team was determined to build upon its achievement at the previous Germany 2006. According to Painstil, the only way to reward the local fans as well as thousands of Ghanaians, who had defied the cold weather to support the Team and to make the Continent proud, was to win on Saturday.


Central Defender Isaac Vorsah said the battle was far from over after winning the first game against Serbia. He considered Australia as a more difficult opponent, even after that Team's miserable 0-4 loss to Germany in the opening game.


"We will need to be more focused and concentrate on the game. It is very important for our survival in the competition and we cannot afford to drop our guard", he stated.


The Team returned to training on Thursday, and it is expected to fine-tune its preparations for Saturday's game on Friday at the venue of the match at Rustenburg before it takes on Australia.


A win for the Stars would seal their qualification to the next stage of the competition, though it would still have in hand a game against Germany on June 23, at Johannesburg.