A section of football enthusiasts at the Ministries have appealed to the President to declare Monday, next week, a public holiday if the Black Stars win the Africa Cup of Nations for the fifth time on Sunday. According to them, the celebration that would mark that feat by the Black Stars would be so great that if Monday was not declared a holiday, it was likely many workers would not go to work. "The President will have no other option than to give a holiday next Monday. We are in an unbeatable mood. Cote d’Ivoire are a done deal," they remarked. The football fans made the appeal Monday when the Daily Graphic spoke to them on how they celebrated the Black Stars' victory over the Super Eagles of Nigeria in last Sunday's epic quarter-final match at the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium. At all the ministries visited, many of the workers were still savouring the euphoria that greeted the Black Stars' victory last Sunday. All the fans showered praises on the Black Stars players and the coach for their performance, that even when they were one goal and one man down at various stages of the match, they were able to beat their sub-regional archrivals and set the "Host and Win" agenda on course. Many of them said they lost hope after skipper John Mensah was shown the red card in the 60th minute and could not imagine that the team could come from that disadvantaged position to win the match. Some of the fans expressed disappointment at the performance of the Algerian referee, particularly his showing John Mensah the red card, and said jokingly that the referee might have been shown some "oil money". The Minister of State of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Dr Anthony Akoto-Osei, who watched the match at the stadium, told the Daily Graphic team that the match was a good game and that the Black Stars were peaking at the right time, commending Coach Claude Le Roy for his tactical acumen that plotted the victory. He expressed optimism that having won four matches, the Black Stars were on course to winning the remaining two matches and take the cup. Dr Akoto-Osei, therefore, urged all Ghanaians to continue to rally solidly behind the team to enable it to achieve that dream. The Deputy Finance Minister, Prof. George Gyan-Barfuor, who was in the minister's office, also urged fans to continue to cheer the team up even in difficult moments. Dr Gyan-Barfuor, who is uncle of the Gyan brothers (Barfuor and Asamoah) in the national team, expressed concern about the manner in which his nephews were treated initially stressing that instead of saying things that would dampen their spirit we should rather encourage the players to defend the nation. Other workers said the mood at the stadium was fantastic any time the Black Stars scored a goal, adding that some guys, as a result, even benefited from free hugs from ladies whom they did not even know. One lady was however disappointed that she watched the matched from the VIP stand, because spectators there did not jubilate as wild as those in the other stands. The fans said before the referee whistled for the end of the match, many of the Nigerian supporters, who were vociferous earlier on, had vanished from the stadium. The Administrator at the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Ransford Arthur, who watched the match live at the stadium, said there was massive celebration within his residential area at Camara in Accra where roads were blocked, causing long vehicular traffic. Source: Daily Graphic