Black Queens defeat: Coach blames players, management blames coach
Black Queens Coach, Anthony Edusei has fingered his charges attitude after the team exited the qualifiers to the London 2012 Olympic Games despite beating Ethiopia 2-1 in Accra.
The Queens stroke twice but allowed Erehenia Zarga to pull a goal back and tie the scores at two all on aggregate for Ethiopia to qualify on a crucial away goal.
The visibly disappointed coach Edusei told GNA Sports “I blame it on the attitude of the players. They scored two goals and immediately changed their attitude and that cost us.”
“The players relaxed too much after the goal and though I kept telling them to fight they will not listen.”
The Queens attempted a maiden qualification to the quadrennial event and lost the first leg in Addis Ababa by a lone goal, their first defeat to any team apart from Nigeria’s Super Falcons in any qualifier.
Coach Edisei said “I’m very disappointed because there was no way we should have lost this game and get kicked out like that”.
The Queens, late last year exited from the last African Women Championship (AWC) in South Africa with their worst ever performance in the history of the competition prompting changes to the team.
They were tipped as favourite to qualify from the group especially when their recent conquers, Nigeria, Cameron and Equatorial Guinea and all locked up in the other half.
Meanwhile, Fred Crenstil, Chairman of the Black Queens Management Committee has put the blame of the Queens exit from the qualifiers to the London 2012 Olympic Games, at the doors steps of Coach Anthony Edusei.
“The first substitution that was done by the coach was a very bad decision. Taking off Portia Boakye was very wrong.”
“You could see there was a very fine combination between Portia Boakye and Edem Atovor and taking her out cost the team. We lost from the bench.”
The Queens scored once in each half but the Ethiopians pulled a goal back through Erehenia Zarga with five minutes to end the game to gift the visitors who won the first leg by a lone goal a crucial march to the next stage on the wings of an away goal.
The Chairman said “the understanding between the two players brought the first goal. The team has not done well and I thought bringing the young ones plus the experienced ones should have helped.”
“The coach got it all wrong and we lost solely from the bench.”
Touching on the way forward, Mr Crenstil said his committee will await the report of the Coach to decide on which way to go.
He will however not pre-empt if Coach Edusei who is yet to record a success story with the Queens will be fired saying “I do not want to predict that now.”
Source: GNA