Sports
A Simpson classic
“It takes a lot of time to get experience, and once you have it, you ought to go on using it,” an American Physiologist, Benjamin Minge Duggar, once said.
Such may be the story of Black Stars and Nations FC defender, Razak Simpson, who scored a classic goal to hand Accra Hearts of Oak a painful 1-0 defeat in their Ghana Premier League match at Kasoa last week.
Despite a vast experience in the game locally, Simpson was not going to be accounted among the best 10 defenders from the current season.
However, his stock made an upward turn the moment he caught the attention of national team selectors. Currently, it would be impossible to leave Simpson out of the best five defenders in the local league.
Yes, that is what it means to look for experience and continue to use it when it is acquired.
In their outstanding Ghana Premier League (GPL) match day 21 fixture at the Tuba Park, Simpson scored a screamer for Nations FC.
It is definitely a goal-of-the-season contender, and speaks volumes of the experience he has acquired from his brief association with the Black Stars.
This is the exact impact expected to see from a local star that gets the chance to ‘dine’ with the ‘big’ boys.
And for the impact, he is beginning to improve his performances in the league, it should be encouraging enough for the selectors to look for more local talents in a bid to improve the local standard.
In the aforementioned match, Simpson broke the deadlock in the 57th minute when he beautifully controlled ball on the chest and riffled straight into the net. It left everyone, including the Hearts players, stunned.
This was evident in the manner the goal was celebrated. And right after the game, he was mobbed by both players and fans as if the goal was just scored.
Assuredly, these are some of the confident performances fans want to see in the game but how would that happen when the players lack the bigger platforms and exposures only the Black Stars offer.
For few fans, Simpson’s name may sound new in the ear because he did not get the chance to feature for Hearts of Oak, Asante Kotoko or Great Olympics, the major traditional sides in Ghana.
However, this is a player that started his career with Elite Soccer Academy and introduced to the elite game in July 2019 when he was signed by Ashanti Gold on a five-year deal.
Two years on, he joined Liberty Professionals on loan until the end of the season.
He also had a stint with WAFA; incidentally tasting relegation with all of them until Nations FC offered another lifeline to the top and finally, his light shone.
Now with the Black Stars, Simpson is considered one of the top performers in the local game and showed his class with the picturesque goal against the Phobians.
One thing has become very clear under Coach Otto Addo in the helm of affairs of the Black Stars.
Interestingly, almost all the invites to local chaps have seen them transformed into instant hits. When Jerry Afriyie was given the opportunity on his debut against Niger, he scored the only goal for the Black Stars as Kudus Mohammed wasted a penalty chance to score again.
Then came Simpson, who was invited for the last two encounters for the failed AFCON bid and also played for a few minutes in the World qualifiers.
On Benjamin Asare’s debut, he became the first choice goalkeeper of the Black Stars, keeping two clean sheets in games against Chad and Madagascar.
Currently, he remains the Black Stars first choice goalkeeper, hoping to see an improvement in performance to remain at the top.
Surprisingly, a section of fans kept deliberating whether Simpson’s strike could have beaten Asare in goal. Obviously, these are some of the discussions that would drive fans to the stadium to get the answers for themselves.
But how could that happen if the local players are ignored. Now that Afriyie, Asare and Simpson have opened the door, observers would watch to see what happens next.
By Andrew Nortey
Sports
‘Black Stars not there yet’
After seeing Mali undone by Alexander Djiku’s second half strike to give Ghana a 1-0 victory over Mali on Monday in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Accra, Otto Addo gave his thoughts in the post-match press conference.
Below are excerpts.
On the game against Mali
You could see that we have a young squad and players who haven’t been playing often for the national team so far; that made them nervous. I think we got a good game.
We increased the pressure early in the second half, and managed to score out of a set piece. And then it was pure fight afterwards, especially the period after the goal.
On decision-making in the final third
I think if you have played before, you know that sometimes there’s a little bounce from the ball or the position is close and you think too much, I told them actually, but as a footballer, it’s normal that you try to look for a perfect solution.
Semenyo’s performance
He did really well, you know, it’s difficult to compare games from the Premier League with games in Africa and Ghana. It’s very, very difficult and then all games have their own nature and surely you can say that he stands more out in the Premier League, but for me today he was excellent, he fought until he couldn’t run anymore.
On Gideon Mensah
Well, I think sometimes he’s a little bit too confident and we had, especially after the Chad game, had some talks and for everyone who has played football on a higher level.
If he does it in La Liga, it’s fine because in La Liga, if you lose the ball to your opponent, he will counter-press you. He needs to simplify his game sometimes. Didn’t look too complicated, but it’s difficult sometimes if you’re coming from a different environment to switch your thinking.
On Kwasi Sibo’s performance
First of all, big congrats for him. I think he really did well. It’s not easy to come from a different environment to fit into the squad, but yeah, he knows a lot of players already in the team and he connected well. He’s very, very confident and I think he did extremely well, especially when you see that this was his first match. .
On Ghanaians being overly expectant
No, I think the expectations are normal. We are Ghana. For me, if everybody is talking before the Chad game that we already won and we are already taking the three points, it’s dangerous because if this gets to the heads of the fans, it’s a problem for me.
I’m warning everybody who think we have already gone to the World Cup to take things easy. It’s not like that. We have to give the same effort as today to beat Central African Republic. If we don’t do this, it’s a big problem. We have a lot of work to do. A lot of work. It’s going to be very, very difficult.
On goal scoring
You know, the last window, we scored eight goals. I think it was ok, but we can’t expect it all the time. So I hope that the players who missed the chances would score the next time. But it’s all about learning, improving and adapting always to the circumstances.
And I think in each situation, they could have taken one, two, three steps more or more time to look for the partner to have a better overview to give the right pass.
Sports
Black Queens Set to Face England Lionesses in International Friendly
The Black Queens will face the Lionesses of England in a high-profile international friendly on December 2,2025 per agreement between the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the England Football Association.
After reaching the semi-finals at the 2024 WAFCON, the Black Queens are determined to build on that performance and establish themselves among the elite teams on the continent.
This match comes off as part of Ghana’s preparations for all international assignments, including the 2026 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
The fixture against England, one of the world’s top-ranked sides and reigning European champions, is expected to provide the Queens with a tough test that will sharpen the squad.
Head coach Kim Lars Björkegren will also seize the golden opportunity to measure the team’s progress, expose the players to world-class opposition, and correct areas that need improvement.
The Black Queens will head into the encounter motivated to put up a strong performance, not only to test their readiness but also to showcase the strides Ghana continues to make in women’s football on the international stage.
