Ghana’s 2-1 loss to Nigeria was a night to forget for many of the players.
For a select few, however, it was a good audition for future roles in the team.
Christopher Bonsu Baah
He had everything: pace, trickery, a cultured left foot, tenacity, a strong work ethic, and the arrogance of a Brazilian winger who still attempts to dribble after a million failed attempts in the same game. In the first half, Ghana’s midfield collapsed. The entire team did. When it did, Bonsu dropped into the half space on a few occasions but lacked the support to create anything meaningful.
As a result, he was forced to hold onto the ball longer than necessary, often running into traffic. Yet, each time, Bonsu backed himself to take on his marker and always got past the first man. That changed in the second half when Caleb Yirenkyi came on and started occupying the wide areas further up the pitch.
Bonsu’s occupation of the half spaces began to look more meaningful as he tucked inside to add up the numbers in midfield when Otto Addo’s men were building up. Perhaps his most meaningful contribution was a delightful cross to Jordan Ayew after shifting onto his stronger foot to create half an inch of space.
His ability to manipulate space to his favour by simply shifting to his left to create a crossing angle was impressive.
The timing of it was even better because if he had delayed it for one more second, Igoh Ogbu, who was approaching, stepped into the zone to block that angle and provide an extra lever of protective cover. Bonsu would have been forced onto his weaker (right) foot or hold onto the ball and pass it back.
But the timing was excellent, and what followed was just as good; a peach of a cross that found Jordan Ayew.
As far as right-wing debuts go, this is perhaps the most lively Ghanaians have seen since the late Christian Atsu’s debut against Lesotho in June 2012.
Ghanaians will certainly like to see the Genk man again.
Brandon Thomas-Asante
In what was his third cap for Ghana, Asante looked very much at home. His hold-up play allowed his teammates to get up the pitch in time when he came on. The confidence with which he moved around and his spatial awareness were brilliant to watch.
He knew which pockets of space to occupy and which channels to run into when his teammates had the ball. Such strikers are a defender’s nightmare as they are constantly on the move and will often force defenders to chase them into no man’s land.
Do you chase the striker and vacate your position? Do you stay and hope that wherever he strays, a teammate figures out how to deal with him and their primary responsibility?
If you have to deal with that problem, chances are that, at least on one occasion, the striker will find himself unmarked in a very good position. That moment came in the 70th minute when Nigeria’s Semi Ajayi lost track of Thomas-Asante, and he was not going to miss. The run into the channel was good, but the touch was even better; deft and precise.
There was not a lot of pace on Ebenezer Annan’s cross, but the quality of Thomas-Asante’s touch was supreme, leaving Nwabali with no chance but to flap helplessly at the cross. Ten minutes later, Nwabali redeemed himself when he produced a fine save to deny Asante’s snapshot. That time, the Coventry City striker, with his back to goal, managed to shift his body to manipulate space and create half an inch for himself, before producing a fine effort from 20 yards that was heading for the roof of the net.
Before Wednesday night’s brilliance, there had been a certain curiosity, a sense of expectation even, that given more minutes, Thomas-Asante might produce more.
After that performance, Thomas-Asante should be trusted with more game time.
Caleb Yirenkyi
His introduction had a feel of Joseph Attamah Larweh to it. He was a centre-back who got skinned by Congo in a World Cup Qualifier in 2017. It did not matter that he was forced to deputise at right back. That was the altar on which his national team career was sacrificed because even though he had subsequent call-ups, he was never trusted again.
So when Caleb Yirenkyi was asked to play right-back on Wednesday night, many Ghanaians were anxious. The fact that Salis Abdul Samed, a midfielder who had started only three games at Sunderland this season and was having a stinker, was kept in midfield was a problem in itself.
Yet, Yirenkyi took it with grace and aced his audition. The Nordsjaelland midfielder, who was asked to play as a wing-back, provided width when the Black Stars attacked and was excellent in recovering when the Nigerians broke free on the counterattacks.
His interventions were the reason Nigeria could not increase the deficit even though they had opportunities to. Further up the pitch, he combined well with Baah Bonsu, providing a real source of threat down Ghana’s right side.
He was composed in possession but also knew when to speed things up. On occasion, he picked up central positions, allowing Ashimeru Majeed to move higher up the pitch and influence the buildup. Yirenkyi has earned his place in the next call-up.
Hopefully, when he gets to play, it will not be another experiment at wing-back, but in his natural habitat.
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