Black Stars coach Avram Grant has strongly defended under-fire Aston Villa forward Jordan Ayew insisting his performance against Uganda was one of the best on the day.

Jordan came under lots of criticism from fans for his display in Ghana’s narrow victory over Uganda in the opening day of the 2017 Africa cup of Nations tournament in Gabon.

“I think Jordan played one of his best games for Ghana. In the first half, he was very good and created chances and held the ball for us. In the second half,” Grant said during the press conference after the game.

“His performance dropped just like the rest of the team. When teams come to tournaments, they want to start with a win so I understand. The players had not won against Uganda in a while so they wanted to protect the lead. “

“We did not attack too often and we did not use the various combinations in the team. The general quality was a little low but we marked well and we protected the spaces because we needed to win.”

“For Jordan, I think he did a good job in our victory.”

Jordan’s brother Andre Ayew converted 32 minute penalty as Ghana recorded its first win against Uganda since 2005.

Black Stars will play against Mali on January 25 while Uganda will chase their first win when they play against Egypt on the same day