Hughton Raises Concern About Pitch After Stalemate With Madagascar

Black Stars head coach Chris Hughton complained about the nature of the Mahamasina Municipal Stadium in Antananarivo following the team’s lethargic performance against Madagascar on Sunday.

In their penultimate clash of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers in Group E, Ghana needed a win to seal their place in the next AFCON to be held in Ivory Coast but failed to live up to expectations with a single shot on target which came from a set piece.

Regardless of the result, Ghana still lead the group with nine points and would have to only avoid defeat in their final game against Central African Republic to qualify.

However, Chris Hughton expressed his disappointment after the game, highlighting a number of areas in which he thought Ghana fell short. The 64-year-old gaffer pointed out Ghana’s weakness upfront while stating his displeasure with the quality of the pitch.

“We are very disappointed. We came here with an attitude and a mindset to win but to win any football match, you need to score goals and we found it difficult today. The pitch is difficult, it’s a very uneven pitch but it’s the same for both teams…the fact that we didn’t score is the most disappointing thing,” he stated.

“Our strategy for the next match is to win. We are playing at home. We know we have to get a result. Obviously, it’s a game we know the consequences if we don’t win,” he added.