How it all happened in Benin

Rene Taelman, the first expatriate coach under whose guidance the Benin national soccer team, Le Ecureuil, chalked the history 1-0 victory over Ghana's Black Stars, admitted after the international friendly last Saturday that the Stars were better side, "but Benin had to win for me to save my job."

Both the coach and the Benin football Association were under intense pressure to justify the inclusion of six foreign-based players, an anxiety, which reflected in the way referee Lamidi Cocou Brice, handled the match.

In fact, the GNA Sports gathered that a lost for the Belgium expatriate would jeopardise his future with the team.

He was in charge when the Ecureuil were thrashed 3-0 by the same locally assembled Ghanaian team in Kumasi three weeks ago.

It was the first defeat for the coach in eight matches; having beaten Tanzania 4-0 before his home crowd and held Zambia to a 1-1 drawn game in Lusaka, the coach had no option than to abandon his rebuilding exercise for an instant result; hence the inclusion of six foreign-based players including the skipper and star player, Chrysossome Damier of Italy.

Even with that, the Beninior found the Black Stars pretty tough and but for an immense favour from the referee, disaster would have struck at the Kouhounou national stadium.

From the kick off, the signs were clearly written on the wall that the Stars could only win by a divine intervention. Referee Brice frustrated the Ghanaians, whistling for infringements when he ought not to and robbed the Stars of two clear penalties.

But for the resilience and determination of the boys, captained by Bernard Don Bortey, the story would have disastrous. For even in the mist of all the frustration the Black Stars were the most admired and tactically superior side.

A 17th-minute slip at the defence enabled Swiss-based Gaspog Alair to fetch the only goal for Benin.

The day however, belonged to Don Bortey. He played a real captains game, thrilled the fans with his scorching runs and displayed immense skills such that at a point in time, the Beninoir sports journalists mistook him for a foreign-based player.

No wonder at the end of the match the fans had to carry him shoulder-high while coach Afranie and the other players were mobbed.

Coach Afranie one of the three coaches interviewed for the Black Stars top job expressed confidence in the boys and was optimistic that Ghana would qualify for the 2004 Cup of Nations in Tunisia if the players were kept together.

He said the team would need the inclusion of one or two foreign-based players to make it more devastating and in readiness for the Stars next qualifier in June.

"In every rebuilding exercise, you have to expect some amount of setbacks, but these should rather urge you to do better", the coach told his players when consoling them after the match.

The match was not without drama as Ghana's Masseur Charles Botchway was given the marching orders from the inner perimeters after a confrontation with security personnel. He was preventing the security man from dragging Bortey on the turf as he lay injured on the pitch.