Ghana in no fear of artificial surface
Stars in no fear of artificial surface
Posted: 2010-09-03 07:00
The Black Stars insist they can cope with the demands of playing on an artificial pitch in Swaziland after their days of training in Johannesburg.
The team will leave Johannesburg for Mbabane later on Friday confident that they have found a way of dealing with what Milovan Rajevac considers their biggest challenge in Sunday's 2013 Nations Cup qualifier which is the artificial pitch.
The Serbian reckons the Swazis might derive an advantage from playing on the surface but his players are determined to ensure that does not work as an advantage.
"Some of us grew up playing on gravels in Ghana and pitches without grass so it will not be a problem at all. We have learnt that to win games and become a good football team you must do it the hard way and that is exactly what we must do," defender Lee Addy told KickOffGhana.com.
Dede Ayew though says there is a genuine fear of injury playing on that surface. "We know that a lot of players pick up injuries playing on that surface so it's not the best. But we have to tough it out sometimes and hope that our collective will, will take us through."
And John Paintsil who only joined the team on Wednesday reckons he has seen enough to convince him it will not be a problem. "As professional players, we simply have to carry on and play well regardless of the surface. In training, the boys have passed the ball around well and have shown they have the ability to play their normal game regardless of the surface."
The Black Stars will have a feel of the ground in Swaziland on Saturday in their only training session before the game itself on Sunday afternoon.
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