Frank Acheampong
Ghana winger Frank Acheampong marked his 27th birthday with a brace against Shenzen Kaisa in the Chinese Super League play-off.
With Tianjin needing a win to place them in a good position for the second leg, their captain stepped up on his birthday and fired two goals.
Teda now goes into the second leg of the play offs against Kaisa with a 2-0 advantage but Frank Acheampong believes the battle is far from over.
He has charged his teammates to focus and do everything to survive relegation.
“I’m very happy to score, what makes it more special is the fact that the win and goals have come on my birthday but more important is the teams survival in the Super League, this win is good but the ultimate is to remain in the league. We need to stay focused and work even harder to achieve this,” Acheampong said.
The former U-20 will be hoping that his impressive form at club level will catch the eye of Black Stars coach CK Akonnor, who is still putting together a team for the qualifier against Sudan next month.
After both matches against Mali and Qatar, Akonnor is reportedly ready to axe some players and add some new faces.
Acheampong has played 23 times for the Black Stars, scoring twice.
In an interview earlier this year, Acheampong expressed hope of returning to the Black Stars in future.
“It is evident Ghana has a pool of talent. I miss the Black Stars and it’s my prayer to earn another call up,” he told Kumasi FM.
“I’m upping my game to earn a spot in the Black Stars again. I am sure the technical team will divert attention to the Chinese league to assess my performance and invite me. I am forever ready for the Black Stars.”