Black Queens head coach Kim Lars Björkegren has come to the defence of his squad following Ghana’s heartbreaking semi-final exit on the 2024 Girls’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), praising their resilience and efficiency regardless of the slender defeat.
Ghana bowed out of the event after a tense 4-2 penalty shootout loss to host nation Morocco, following a 1-1 draw after further time.
The Black Queens had taken an early lead within the first half via a composed end by Stella Nyamekye and appeared in management for a lot of the sport with strong defensive play and tactical self-discipline.
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Nonetheless, Morocco equalised within the fifty fifth minute via Sakina Ouzraoui, and regardless of each groups pushing for a winner in further time, the match finally got here right down to penalties, the place the Atlas Lionesses emerged victorious.
In his post-match remarks, Coach Björkegren mirrored on the sport and what he believed was an unfair final result for his facet:
We deserve a win. You’ll be able to see in relation to anticipated objectives, in relation to a crew that’s below one objective, that is a standard win. We have been somewhat bit unfortunate at the moment. Then once more, I can not be extra happy with the ladies and the way onerous they labored at the moment.
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Björkegren mentioned after the sport.
The Swedish tactician additionally pointed to the bodily pressure his crew endured within the buildup to the match, citing restricted restoration time and journey fatigue as extra challenges that will have impacted their efficiency.
I’m actually happy with the ladies; they labored so onerous we have been speaking about our fatigue stage earlier than the sport. As a result of we had in the future much less for restoration than Morocco, and we additionally had in the future of travelling, so on the finish of the day, it was actually robust to start out with. Then we performed one other 120 minutes, they usually did it so properly; I believe we have been the higher crew within the sport.
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Lars shared after the heartbreaking end result.
Regardless of the frustration, the Black Queens stay in rivalry for a podium end and can now shift their focus to the third-place playoff in opposition to South Africa’s Banyana Banyana.
