U-20 AYC: Ghana deserved to qualify – Cobblah

Black Satellites coach Jimmy Cobblah says the team deserved to pick the final slot to next year’s Africa U-20 Cup of Nations.

Ghana on Sunday held Benin to a 1-1 and having won the first leg encounter 3-1 the previous week, progressed to the Niger 2019 tournament on a 4-2 aggregate.

Bio Odo ChabI had given the Young Squirrels the lead 12 minutes into the second half but Prosper Ahiabu levelled for the Satellites in the 85th minute.

Speaking after the match, coach Cobblah said: “I’m a happy man now because it wasn’t easy to qualify. A lot of things have changed over the few months but we remained focused.”

“We deserved to qualify and I’m particularly excited for the young players since they will have a bigger platform to showcase their talent.

“The first goal by Benin almost unsettled us because another goal from them would have probably gotten us eliminated. But we stayed focused with our game plan and eventually equalized which gave us a huge advantage.”

Looking ahead, the Ghana gaffer indicated he would need to beef up the team in order to be competitive on their return to the Nations Cup scheduled for February 24 to March 10, 2019.

“We have a solid team but there are few positions that need reinforcements. We’ll be on the lookout for excellent additions so that we can participate very well in the Afcon next year,” Cobblah noted.

Ghana have joined hosts Niger, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa for the 15th edition of the U-20 Afcon. The best four at the Championships will represent Africa at the World Cup to be staged in Poland later next year.