Ghana beat Algeria with late goal

Lyndon Lloyd , 23 January, 13comments | Jump to most recent

Christian Atsu was in Africa Cup of Nations action today as Ghana edged Algeria 1-0 thanks to Asamoah Gyan's late winner.

The former Sunderland striker recovered in time from a mild bout of Malaria to bag the all-important goal that puts the Black Stars back in the mix in Group C after they lost their opener to Senegal.

Atsu played the full 90 minutes and was rated as man of the match by statistics website, WhoScored.com, for his overall contribution.

Reader Comments (13)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

Ian Burns
1 Posted 23/01/2015 at 18:23:45

Can't make my mind up about this piece of news Lyndon.

Does his MoM performance make a statement about the player or coaching at FF?

Lyndon Lloyd
2 Posted 23/01/2015 at 19:17:46

I'd put it down to the fact that the Premier League is obviously a much tougher environment than AFCoN (where I'm sure he has a lot more space to work with) and he's not had a run of games to get acclimatised to our League.

He's been lively when he has come on for us (often in difficult circumstances) but had a habit of giving the ball away far too often and lacked end product. So a bit like McGeady... For a PL player he's very small, too, which doesn't help.

If he's ours until the summer we have nothing to lose so I'd like to see him get a few more chances, because he is one of the few players who will provide natural width and run at people. But I sense many Blues have already written him off.

Sam Hoare
3 Posted 23/01/2015 at 19:29:36

Atsu has basically had zero opportunity with us. A few cameos here and there is not going to get the best out of a player. They need to start 3 or 4 games on the trot especially if young. Just look at Robles who already looks much better than the nervy bit part player.

Strange that Martinez brought in Atsu as a pacy tricky winger but has ended up playing etoo, Barkley and Naismith out wide rather than give him a run.

Ian Burns
4 Posted 23/01/2015 at 19:29:00

Lyndon - I can't fault you're reasoning and as always your points are well made.

However I can't help but think that coaching at FF has a lot to answer for and I suppose my feelings toward this manager colours my thinking.

I would probably blame him right now if the half time tea was cold!

Harold Matthews
5 Posted 23/01/2015 at 19:41:07

Highlights on ITV4 22.00hrs.and ITV4+1 @ 23.00hrs

Harold Matthews
6 Posted 23/01/2015 at 19:58:51

Not sure it's a lot easier than the PL Lyndon. Bony struggled a bit the other day and Bolasie was ineffective and subbed today.

Dave Abrahams
7 Posted 23/01/2015 at 20:11:31

Like you say Lyndon we don't really know if Astu is good or bad, so it would have been better if Ghana had been beaten today, we would have gotten Astu back a lot sooner and maybe, just maybe he will surprise a lot of people on here.

John Raftery
8 Posted 23/01/2015 at 22:24:00

I watched this match on Eurosport. Space was at a premium in a contest littered with fouls and dominated by the two defences. Atsu showed good close control with both feet as well as an ability to go past a man. Given a few games in the team he could add some much needed guile to our attack. Unfortunately at the moment we cannot afford anyone a settling in period.

Mike Childs
9 Posted 23/01/2015 at 23:13:18

Sam has it spot on Atsu hasn't been given a decent run perhaps his frail body maybe the problem but if you ask me it comes down to RM playing his favorites of which McGeady is in the top 5.

Then again it could come down to the extra pride of playing for ones country's colors but what happened to......

Gavin Ramejkis
10 Posted 23/01/2015 at 23:31:52

Not really sure why Atsu has not done it in the short game time he has had for us but every time he has had the ball he seemed to run into a player rather than around him.

Steve Jones
11 Posted 23/01/2015 at 23:37:26

He belongs in our under 14 s , that's about the level of the impact he has made when he's come on. Couldn't lace the boots of Gerry D

Harold Matthews
12 Posted 24/01/2015 at 00:49:05

Thanks John. Didn't know it was on Eurosport. Had a look at Atsu on the highlights. Seemed okay on the ball and created the best chance but walked and watched when not in possession. Could have been the heat but not a good sign.

Minik Hansen
13 Posted 24/01/2015 at 14:14:32

Lyndon, small players like Dyer, Pienaar, Baines, Osman, Sterling can cut it, only one on the list is 1 cm bigger than Atsu... so it's just down to Atsu.

Since I mentioned Pienaar, I wonder if he fully fit could make any changes to our approach in our attack. The squad probably have missed him and Ossie, but what do I know? Let's hope Atsu can cut it when Eto'o is gone, as he will get a slightly bigger chance to play... or that we bring in a proper winger.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.

About these ads