It was a collective effort - Olivier

Tokinantenaina Olivier credits his teammates for the TotalEnergies Man of the Match accolade he received at the Chahid Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine, following their impressive 2-1 victory over Ghana on Sunday.

The skilful midfielder was instrumental in helping his side pull the first shock of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Algeria against the two-time finalists in their opening match of the group.

Despite being instrumental, Olivier remained humble in his appreciation of being voted man of the match, saying that it was a collective performance by his team-mates.

“We prepared very well, and we are happy that we played a great game of football against a quality side like Ghana. I am glad to have won this award, but I think it is only fair that I also credit my teammates because I could not have won this without them. We played as a unit and this is a result of teamwork,” said the midfielder.

Oliver added that depriving Ghana of possession made them less of a threat, which contributed to them achieving the result.

“We kept the ball as much as we could because we knew that they are dangerous when having the ball. It certainly was not easy, but we worked hard as a team, and this is a great result for all of us” he concluded.