Soccer fans jubilate over Stars victory

Hohoe, Feb 7, GNA - Scores of jubilant soccer fans including school children on Wednesday continued to engage themselves in discussions on the scintillating performance of the senior national team, the Black Stars for spanking the Super Eagles of Nigeria 4-1 in an international friendly in London yesterday.

The fans said that the glittering performance of the Black Stars at the recent World Cup Tournament in Germany indicates that it was not a fluke and but an attestation that the team has come of age.

The fans most of whom gathered around newspaper vendors and food joints especially rice and beans (waakye) and porridge sellers as well the frontage of major stores as they replayed the entire game by giving minute-by-minute and who-did-what accounts of events that transpired in the London game with lucidity.

They commended the Stars for breaking the 15-year Nigerian jinx, as the Super Eagles soared above the Stars each time they met and applauded the collective performance of the team with the skipper Stephen Appiah, the mid-field dynamo Michael Essien and the agile Laryea Kingson being their toast.

Some of the ecstatic fans however expressed their disappointment and frustration on the Federation of International Football Association's (FIFA) rankings, which they contended continued to upgrade the Eagles even in the face of non-performance contrary to the Stars level, which seem to decline even after winning several matches.

The fans said they are anxiously waiting patiently for the next FIFA rankings results to see whether FIFA was really biased against Ghana. Mr Kudjo Abibu, a football fan attributed the new-found cohesion and cordiality in the Black Stars to discipline, team spirit and the zeal to excel in addition to the right technical expertise.

School children were not left out as they joggled with the feat of the Stars on their way to school with Master Selorm Atiku, a primary four pupil, who spoke to the GNA Sports saying that the sterling performance of the national team in recent times would make the CAN 2008 tournament a victorious one for Ghana.