Ghana eyeing better outing against Cameroon
Ghana senior women's team are anxious to avoid back-to-back defeats at the Aisha Buhari women's invitational tournament ahead of their meeting with Cameroon in Lagos on Monday.
The Black Queens suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of South Africa - first loss to the Banyana Banyana since 2008, and also in six consecutive matches in all international competitions.
Following back-to-back international friendly wins over Morocco last November 2020, the Ghanaians ended their 10-month hiatus on a disappointing note, tasting a comprehensive defeat in their first match of 2021.
Despite the setback, vice-captain Dumehasi Fafali revealed that they have fully recovered and are eager to pose a better performance against Cameroon.
"We are not happy about our loss to South Africa but as a player, you've got to put all that behind you and focus on what is ahead," said the Police Ladies shot-stopper.
"This tournament is a good exercise to prepare for the Africa Women's Cup of Nations qualifiers. We urge Ghanaians to support us with prayers and all for us to get a good result."
Coach Mercy Tagoe-Quarcoo, on her part, believes her players are back in the right frame of mind and will put up a good fight against the Indomitable Lionesses at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena.
"After the huge defeat (to South Africa), I've been able to psyche the ladies and everyone is calm now and fully recovered," said Tagoe-Quarcoo, who also doubles as Berry Ladies coach.
"We all know that the defeat we had against South Africa was not that encouraging. However, we've made one or two changes and I believe the second match will be a different ball game.
"I believe that we are on course and just waiting to see a better performance against the Cameroonians."
Ghana are without several foreign-based stars - captain Elizabeth Addo, Mukarama Abdulai, Alice Kusi, Sherifat Sumaila, Ernestina, Priscilla Okyere and more for the Aisha Buhari Cup.
Despite the absent professionals, the Black Queens coach is upbeat about her side's readiness and is still counting on their experiences for the African qualifiers next month.
"We are still going through a phase of team building as I brought a lot of local players here because they need to have international games like this to expose and toughen them," she continued.
"When I add some foreign-based players to these local ones, we should have a formidable team."
Ghana will battle holders Nigeria in the first round of the TotalEnergies Africa Women's Cup of Nations qualifiers in between 18-26 October, 2021 with the winner to face Cote d'Ivoire or Niger in the next stage.
Photos@AishaBuhariCup