Barreto happy with performance of players

From: Daniel Kenu, GNA special correspondent in Metz, France

Metz, France, April 2, GNA - Black Stars Coach, Marriano Barreto said on Thursday that he was content with the performance of his players in the team's one all drawn game against French first division side, Metz adding that, the exercise has given him the opportunity to assess his foreign legion properly. He said the result did not matter to him but his priority at the moment is how to assemble a formidable squad to contest for a place in the 2006 World Cup tournament scheduled for Germany.

Ghana is in the same group with neighbours Burkina Faso, old foes South Africa, Dr Congo, Cape Verde and Uganda for just a singe slot to the Mundial.

The Portuguese coach said he was particularly happy with the standard of play in the first 45 minutes, during which he lined up his first choice players, which included skipper Stephen Appiah and Michael Essien but had to rest them in the second half because of their tight club schedules.

Appiah for instance came with a special jet and his managers were anxiously waiting to whisk him away even before the end of the match, while Essien had to catch a bus to rejoin his team in Lyon.

Ghana took a first half lead when Eric Addo, who returned to the squad after a six-year freeze completed a two-man move initiated by Appiah. But the French team pulled level in the 65th minute after the coach had substituted almost the entire midfielders and attackers with some local players. "I respect my boys and the worth of their clubs and therefore had to cooperate with them to build good rapport for the future when I will need them most," the coach told the GNA sports in Metz after the match on Wednesday evening.