Sports
Every word from Coach Otto Addo post Chad Press Conference
After seeing his side concede late against Chad in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier, Otto Addo gave his thoughts in the post-match press conference. He spoke about missed opportunities, playing in a very difficult terrain, tactics, and our game plan and more.
Here is everything he had to say:
On the result
Yeah, it’s very disappointing. Just one point for us. Yeah, it’s not easy for us to play on this ground, in the heat, but we have to take it, and I think we came in well to score the first goal. Continued to dominate, we created a lot of chances, but we were not sharp enough to use them. For us, unluckily, I think the first shot from Chad, which hit the target, entered the net. It was a deflection, but this is football sometimes, you know. We had a lot of chances, we could have killed the game before, or we must have killed the game before, but we didn’t do it. They have one big chance, I think there were some wide shots from Chad, but other than that, there was no big chance of one deflection in the goal. So yeah, it’s really, really disappointing for us. I want to congratulate Chad for getting the point, for sure.
On home support
I think they’ve got great support from the spectators. And I want to thank everybody, the fans, how they welcomed us, to Chad. I want to thank all the fans who welcomed us here. They are very good supporters.
On whether players felt one goal was enough
No, no. I think, surely, going to a ball position, I think it’s very difficult to play on this terrain when it’s not watered. We can’t play fast, so it’s a disadvantage for us If the pitch is not wet, and the boys, surely, they play in Europe, they have a wet pitch, they can play fast. But the pitch was very slow for us, so it’s difficult to outplay the defenders. But also, I have to say, Chad did well in defending, and they didn’t allow too many chances.
On chances
For me, the most important thing is, the three or four good chances we had, we should have scored the second goal, to make our opponent weak, and also mentally weak, and us stronger. But we didn’t use our chances. Like I said before, in football, sometimes it’s like that, if you don’t use the three or four good chances you have, sometimes you’re unlucky and you’ll get one. Chad played very well at the end.
On having star players like Ayew, Williams, Kudus, and others and not taking advantage
In the end, I can’t say we played excellent, or we played well, because the result is everything, I know. If we had scored two or three goals, we would have talked differently, I know. But, again, respect to Chad for the good defending. I don’t know how many corners we had, we had a lot of corners, we did nothing out of that, we had a lot of shots, attempts on the goal, we had a lot of ball possession, and normally we have to win this game. So this is, at the end, surely not good enough, and we have to improve, especially on our execution.
On objective coming into the game
For me, in general, there are no small countries anymore. If you play away, it’s always difficult, especially in Africa, it’s always difficult to play away. You will never see big, big results in away games. I think no other country also scored more than two goals against Chad in general. So I can’t say it’s a normal thing that you score Chad with two or three goals. We did it in the first leg, but it’s an away game, and it’s different. Like I said, it’s normal, if you watch all the other results, the games Chad played before, they only lost one-nil, every game, away and at home. In football, there are no small countries, everything is close, and every country can defend.
On whether the result is a fair or missed opportunity for Ghana
To be honest, if you look at the goal attempts, the ball possession, the shots on the goal, the big chances, it’s a missed opportunity. But this is football, like I said, we have to take it like that. From tomorrow on, we have to think about Mali, we have to forget about the game. I’m very, very sure that other countries which will come here will also have difficulties. This is how it is; we have to look forward, and we have to beat Mali now.
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Accra Hearts of Oak will aim to assume the top spot of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) when they travel to Tema to face Vision FC at the Nii Adjei Kraku Sports Complex today.
Perched at the second spot and trailing leaders Medeama with three points, the Phobians would need to snatch the maximum points and a superior goal aggregate to have a taste of the top spot, at least for a day.
It will be a game full of fireworks considering Hearts’ impressive performance on the road against Vision’s strength at home.
The Matchday 6 games would also witness a Saturday clash between Heart of Lions and Berekum Chelsea FC at the Kpando Stadium.
Asante Kotoko’s home clash against Young Apostles will headline tomorrow’s games as they aim to bounce back after the previous week’s defeat in Swedru.
At the Nsenkyire Sports Arena, FC Samartex will test Medeama SC’s character when they clash in what could affect their respective positions on the table after the round seven matches.
After the giant-killing feat over Asante Kotoko, Swedru All Blacks will lock horns with Karela United at the Swedru Stadium just as Basake Holy Stars engage Bechem United at the AAK II Sports Arena,
Fireworks is anticipated at the Debibi Presby Park in the Bono region where Debibi United FC look poised to face Gold Stars.
At the Nana Agyemang Badu I Park, Aduana FC will welcome FC Ashantigold in a clash that will see fans applaud afternoon.
By Andrew Nortey
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Over two decades ago, I made a statement that if I was given the sole responsibility to come out with the league fixtures for the season, I could give some advantage to some clubs and make winning the league difficult for other clubs. People laughed it off.
To them, it didn’t make sense because in a league in which all clubs play each other twice, things will ‘balance out,’ and the best club will win. I disagree, and I will explain.
In recent times, it seems Kumasi Asante Kotoko has more difficult first five games in the league than arch rivals Accra Hearts of Oak. Debatable?
This is exactly one of the ways to make it difficult for a club to win the league (if a club is marginally better than the others). How can making the first matches in the league difficult for a club lead to a disadvantage for the club?
A. The club starts on a poor note and may struggle to catch up
Imagine a club playing its first five matches against its most difficult opponents. If the club draws all five matches, it will end up with five points. A rival club that plays its easiest matches in the first five games could end up with 15 points.
It will not be easy for the club with five points to catch up with the club with 15 points because other factors will come in.
B. Psychological ‘boost’ for the winning club and possible stress/’depression’ for the seemingly struggling club
The team that is winning gets a boost. They appear to be better. Their players get confident. Their strikers may be leading on the Goal King chart. Their goalkeeper(s) will be having more clean sheets – finishing matches without conceding goals.
This will be opposite for the team that played more difficult matches. The supporters may be demanding more from the players, putting them under more pressure.
Some of the players may ‘crack’ under the pressure. New players are especially more difficult to settle down. They may end up on the bench for subsequent matches and may struggle to recover and come back into the first team.
C. The coach may be sacked or may resign/leave under pressure
The coach of the club that plays more difficult matches will come under pressure. The coach is likely going to be judged by the points accrued and the position of the club on the league table, not by the quality of opposition faced.
The pressure will come from the bosses and the supporters. The coach may end up being sacked or resigning/leaving under pressure.
D. Players more likely to get injured in tough matches
The club that plays more difficult matches is likely to record more injuries of its players early in the season. Some players may miss the whole season through injuries.
On the other hand, the club that plays easier matches earlier in the season will have the luxury to substitute and rest players when they are comfortably leading in matches.
Players may not have to exert themselves so much, reducing the risk of injuries.
E. Supporters abandon the team that is not winning and may not go to the stadium to give home support
If a club is not winning, its supporters may not pay money to go to the stadium to watch matches. In fact, they may not even go to the stadium if they are asked to go and watch matches for free.
This will not only have financial consequences for the club, an almost empty stadium takes away the home advantage from the ‘intimidation’ of supporters.
The above are all reasons why the first games in the league can give an advantage or a disadvantage to clubs.
Once this it accepted, it means there must be fairness in coming up with the league fixtures if we want the best club(s) to emerge as winners who can represent the country and not disgrace the country internationally.
A transparent way of coming up with the league fixtures is needed (like how balloting is done for knockout competitions).
This way, clubs and individuals cannot complain that someone or some people decided to favour some clubs through the league fixtures.
By Dr. (Med) Kofi Effah
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