Ghana trainer, Samuel Fabin says he would not handle hosts Gabon with kid gloves when both countries clash on Wednesday at Stade de Port Gentil.
The vastly experienced Fabin, who had previously handled the two top Ghanaian club sides, Asante Kotoko and Hearts of Oak, admitted “Les Pantheres” of Gabon was capable of pulling their chestnut from the fire despite losing 5-1 to Guinea in the opening Group A match last Sunday
“We are not going to relax our game against Gabon simply because they lost to Guinea in the opening match of the competition,” Fabin told CAFOnline.com.
“Rather, we are going to display the same attitude and alertness as we did against Cameroon because Gabon is not going to be a cheap team; and we are not going to underrate them,” he emphasized.
The Black Starlets in their 4-0 thrashing of Cameroon on Sunday played with an uncommon élan but Fabin said his wards can equally play to grind results if need be.
“Of course, our speed on the ball and technique is our trump card but football is about being pragmatic; we have prepared the players for all kind of eventualities on the field.
“Football is not only about winning and we have shown them all kind of possibilities and luckily for us, we lost our last training match in Burkina Faso which was an eye opener to the players,” said Fabin.
Wednesday’s match will be the first between Gabon and the two-time champions, Ghana who are desirous of playing once more at the global level since their last appearance a decade ago at the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea where they finished fourth.
In the other Group A match on Wednesday, Guinea will square up against Cameroon at the same venue in Port Gentil.
CAF
