One of the revelations at the just ended African Nations Cup, Andre Ayew believes the experience bagged by the young Ghana team would be beneficial for future competitions.
Andre, 20, and son of Ghana legend, Abedi Ayew Pele, was playing at his second Nations Cup after making his debut in 2008 back home in Accra.
Ghana overcame injuries to key players in the run-up to the tournament by including 12 Nations Cup debutants as the Black Stars under Milovan Rajevac worked wonders to put the World Cup qualifiers into their first continental final in 18 years.
The youngster capped a fine tournament with a crucial goal that qualified Ghana to the last eight at the competition during the group game against Burkina Faso.
“We were lucky to have great experienced players around us. We managed to mix up it and had a great and united team.
“We lost a lot of players and we needed to do something for them and to make ourselves proud,” the younger Ayew said on arrival in Accra on Monday.
Despite hopes for fifth title success, Ghana’s fledging young stars were denied glory on the final day as Egypt settled the tie 1-0 in Luanda.
For Ayew, the pain in the final and the experience derived would help their progress as Ghana now turn their focus to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa later in June.
“Due to hard work, especially due to determination, we kept on growing in confidence and reached that far [finals] but missed the title. It was a great experience for our progress but also a setback as we were very close.
“But it has also given us a different insight into football. We only hope to get better and learn and improve on our performance in Angola.”
