Bibiani GoldStars head coach Frimpong Manso has blamed first-half mistakes for his team’s 2-0 defeat to Algeria’s JS Kabylie in the first leg of their CAF Champions League first preliminary round.

The Ghana Premier League champions conceded in both halves at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday afternoon, making the task even more difficult in the reverse fixture in a week’s time.

“I think it was a difficult game, and we made too many mistakes in the first half. To be frank, playing against such a team, if you start to lose passes in the midfield, you always find yourself wanting. So for me, especially in the first half, we didn't play well,” Manso said after the game.

“Our passes were poor; we were losing possession, and also from midfield to attack we were not supporting. After considering the first half, I think we made some changes in the second half which weren’t bad — I think it improved our team.

“But then we again made a mistake, and they also capitalised on that. So yes, that’s how I think we lost the game by that margin.

Medhi Merghem connected brilliantly with a cross from the right to hand JS Kabylie the lead in the 21st minute.

GoldStars were punished again for some slack defending from a corner when no one stepped up, allowing Babacar Sarr to tap in the 70th minute to double JS Kabylie’s lead.

The reverse fixture will be played in Algeria in a week, with the winner over two legs facing either East End Lions of Sierra Leone or US Monastir of Tunisia in the second preliminary round.