I’ve Not Done Well; Hughton Assesses Himself

Chris Hughton has assessed his performance with the Black Stars in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament and has scored himself below average.

“As head coach, I have not done well in this competition,” he said during a post-match press conference after Mozambique held his side in a stalemate.

The Black Stars failed to record a single win in the tournament and Hughton has entirely taken responsibility for it.

“We’ve played three games and we have conceded two goals in each of the games and we haven’t put ourselves in a winning position where we can score goals. I take responsibility for this team.

“I have a group of players that came here and wanted to do well. For the results that we’ve had in these three games, I’m head coach and I will always take responsibility.”

In his observation about their third group game, he said, “A lot of players have played in these three games and our energy levels were not on the highest spot. When you get yourself into a position of bringing 2-0 up, you don’t expect to concede in the way that we conceded and this was shown in the three games.”

“We continue to make fundamental mistakes. We got ourselves into the lead whether we deserved it or not the fact is that we were in the lead to the next stage of the game.”

Ghana would have recorded a draw in their first game against Cape Verde but a tattered defensive side saw the opponents retake their lead with a late goal.

In their second game against Egypt, Ghana threw away their lead twice to end 2-2 against the Pharaohs.

Chris Hughton’s side converted two penalties in both halves to take the lead in their last group game against Mozambique.

However, the Mambas came from behind to draw against the Black Stars after winning a penalty sanctioned by substitute Andre Ayew in 90+1 minutes and converting a corner three minutes later.

They are now third on the league table with little chance of qualifying to the next round with two points in three games.

Meanwhile, Group B leaders Cape Verde and Egypt have qualified for the Round of 16 of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.