CHANCES REALLY OPEN IN GROUP D (Back Page)

Story: Zakaria Alhassan, Tamale

THE chances of group ‘D’ teams in the ongoing MTN African Cup of Nations for qualification to the next stage of the competition have been thrown open following the two drawn games registered in their first matches played at the magnificent Tamale sports stadium last Wednesday.
It is for this reason that their numerous fans are waiting anxiously to know the fate of their respective countries, come Sunday January 27, when the men would be separated from the boys on the lush playing field at the stadium.
The four Tamale-based teams are the Palancas Negras of Angola, Carthage Eagles of Tunisia, Bafana Bafana of South Africa and Teranga Lions of Senegal.
In last Wednesday’s opening matches, Tunisia and Senegal treated fans to an exhilarating 2-2 drawn game, while in the second match Angola and South Africa also sold out an entertaining football to the cheering crowd. It ended 1-1.
As a result, all the four teams have three points each but only separated by goals aggregate. It is for this reason that fans in Tamale are discussing the chances of the teams in their next matches tomorrow.
The first match will be between Senegal and Angola at 5pm, while Tunisia and South Africa would also lock horns at 7 p.m.
The Bafana Bafana Coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira was right after all when he described the group as fairly balanced, and that ‘‘any team that qualifies from our group is likely to go far in this tournament.’’
Senegalese midfielder, Kamara Diomansy, is hopeful that the Teranga Lions have the potential to lift the unity cup for the first time in this tournament. He was happy that his team was able to secure a draw with Tunisia whom he described as a good team.
Diomansy, who clinched the second goal in the game and was also voted the man of the match in the said match, gave the assurance that, ‘‘I am prepared to score more goals in our subsequent matches.’’
The Angolan Coach, Oliviera Goncalves, also observed that African Football had come of age with every team having its own uniqueness to excel.
According to him, even though his boys caused some blunders in their match against South Africa that resulted in the equalizing goal in the 87th minute, ‘‘we hope to do better in our remaining matches.’’
The technical brain of the Carthage Eagles, Roger Lemere, described this year’s tournament as the most competitive, and that each of the competing teams had the ability to cause upsets.
Come tomorrow, the field will surely determine which of the four teams would qualify to the next stage of the competition. Time will surely tell.