Black Stars head coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren was pleased with his side’s second-half performance and the 2-0 win over Somalia in Thursday’s 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, insisting the most important thing was the three points.
Jonas Adjetey and Felix Afena-Gyan scored in each half as Ghana cruised to their first win in the qualifiers. Speaking to the press after the game at the Sekondi Sports Stadium, Bjorkegren reflected on the game, the tempo, Jonas Adjetey’s first international goal, and the return fixture on Monday.
Here is what he said:
On the game
I think we had a good start of the game, we had a couple of good chances, of course, the penalty, we missed it. After that, I felt that we were struggling a little bit, I don't know if the heat was too much, but the tempo was pretty low, we used too many touches, I think we gave Somalia a little bit of time, so I'm not so happy with the middle of the first half, but I think it was finishing in a good way, and also, of course, it helped that we scored a beautiful header. In the second half, I think it's only one team on the pitch, I think it's a game that can finish 2-3-4-0, but the most important thing today was the three points, so I'm very happy with them.
On taking our chances in the next game
Yeah, I absolutely think that we can do a second good game as well. We didn't have that much information about Somalia, so the good thing is when you have played a team like this, that you know them better for sure into the second one. I think they had more information about us, to be honest, so that would be the upside.
On being happy for the team and Jonas
But the focus has only been to win today, and like I said, I'm really happy with the second half. We just needed to take maybe a couple of more opportunities and score one or two more goals, but we can't complain when we win, so I'm really happy for the boys today, and I'm happy for Jonas.
On the tempo dropping after 30 minutes
But again, respect, because the heat is there. It's not that easy to play when it's hot like this. But we can improve in detail but also have a good tempo on the ball and things like that. From now, we need to be a little bit happier tonight, enjoy the fact that we won. And then tomorrow, take care of the boys' bodies, and then we start from there again and start to build for the second one.
On whether he thinks he is the one for the coaching job
It's not a question for me; I'm going to do my best when I'm here. I said it the whole time, my job is to be here to support Ghana, to be there for the boys, and do my absolute best to win every game and to help the boys back in this group, because I think we can go all the way and qualify for the AFCON. So, I'm doing my job now, and then we will see what happens after this.
On if Ghana’s can win again on Monday
It's football, you never know, but I think how we played in the second half, we bring that energy, and how we played, I think it was a good football, we were entertaining the fans, we had more chances, and we played pretty well. I think we had total control in the end, it was a safe three points in the end, even if, like I said, we maybe missed a couple of chances, especially penalty, it is what it is. But overall, I'm happy with what the boys did, and I'm pretty sure we can do the same thing here in a few days again.
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