Ghana’s coach Chris Hughton has admitted his side’s failure to match the intensity of their Mexican counterparts.
Hughton suffered his first defeat as Black Stars coach when Ghana lost 0-2 to Mexico in an international friendly at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, USA on Saturday.
It was Hirvin Lozano, who opened the scoring 12 minutes after recess and substitute Uriel Antuna doubled the lead in the 72nd minute for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions.
He said after the game “In the first half, I felt we coped well, despite not creating as many chances as we should have. We had reasonable control of the game.
“So in the first half period, I came in after the half time not too unhappy, I felt perhaps we could have produced a little more in the final third.”
He added, “In the second half, the Mexican team raised the tempo and pressed well with their sharp players. We struggled to cope with their intensity.”
And responding to his expectations for the game against US tomorrow, he said, “It is exactly the same message for the players. What we don’t want is to leave this international camp with two poor results.
“The result of that is always you are looking for reaction from the team in the second game [USA].
“If you are able to get the right reaction, which I am quite sure that we will get from the team, then it gives you a better possibility of putting in a performance that can get something out of the game in the second game [USA].
“Learning from their shortcomings in the first game against Mexico is crucial for achieving a positive result against the USA.”
The Stars face their US counterparts at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tennessee, tomorrow.
By Kofi Owusu Aduonum