Jimmy Cobblah
Ghana U-20 male coach Jimmy Cobblah says he can now heave a sigh of relief following his side’s qualification to the 2019 African Youth Championship.
The Black Satellites qualified at the expense of their Beninois counterparts (Young Squirrels) on a 4-2 aggregate after a 3-1 first leg home win and a 1-1 drawn away game.
The qualification pits Ghana against hosts Niger, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Burundi, Mali, South Africa and Senegal in the tournament.
He said in a post-match interview “I’m a happy man now because it wasn’t easy to qualify. A lot of things have changed over the few months but we remained focused.
“We deserved to qualify and I’m particularly excited for the young players since they will have a bigger platform to showcase their talent.
“The first goal by Benin almost unsettled us because another goal from them would’ve probably gotten us eliminated but we stayed focused with our game plan and eventually equalised which gave us a huge advantage.”
However, Cobblah admitted the need to beef up his squad before the final tournament in Niger early next year.
He added “We have a solid team but there are few positions that need reinforcements. We’ll be on the lookout for excellent additions so that we can participate very well in the AFCON next year.”
By Kofi Owusu Aduonum