Ghana drew 2-2 with the Squirrels of Benin in Group F at the 2019 African Cup of Nations tournament in Ismalia.

The Black Stars came from a goal down and led the game right before the stroke of halftime.

A second John Boye yellow card reduced the Black Stars to 10 men as Mickael Pote scored his second of the game minutes later.  

Here are five things learned from the match

Poor start for Ghana

Kwesi Appiah’s side continues to experience poor starts to games and that has been a major concern for the Black Stars side. The defensive setup usually has a mistake or two in them, but the first error led to a goal. An early goal to concede proves to be a psychological blow in games but Kwesi Appiah’s men reacted early drawing us level just before the tenth minute. The unexpected equalizer from the Black Stars should have been the shift in momentum but we could not capitalize on that to score another within the first 30 minutes till Jordan Ayew finished beautifully from a pass by Kasim Adams Nuhu.

Lack of a primary chance creator in the midfield.

The midfield was not as expressive as you would expect them to be. Atletico Madrid midfielder Thomas Partey did not perform up to his usual standards till the 70th minute with some moments of brilliance. The goals that were scored were created from the Black Stars defence surprisingly. A Kwadwo Asamoah start in the second game looks imminent as the Internazionale man will look to bring his tournament experience and creativity to the side.

Kasim Nuhu Adams.

The centre back was one of the best performers in tonight’s game. His interceptions and tackles kept us in the game. He showed his ball-playing abilities with his long balls and through passes. The TSG 1899 Hoffenheim defender from this game has shown that he is good on the ball at his feet as that will be useful for the Black Stars throughout the tournament.

Jordan Ayew needs more help up front.

Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew played a great part in the game but looks more difficult to operate as a lone striker. Despite assisting the first and scoring the other, he could not handle the physicality from the Benin side. With the style of play of the Black Stars currently, we will need an attacker that constantly contributes in most parts of the game to help Jordan Ayew. The Beninois team committed 27 fouls against the Black Stars and this will be a pattern for most opponents that face the Black Stars of Ghana.

John Boye steals the headlines in an unfortunate fashion.

Experienced Black Stars defender John Boye made mistakes that cost us the lead in the game. The 32-year old midfielder who plays for FC Metz went into a rash tackle that got him his first booking. With his vast experience at tournaments for the Black Stars of Ghana, he should try not to waste time as early as the 54th minute during the game. The two yellow cards mean that he will miss the next game against Cameroon on the 29th of June.

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