Former Ghana goalkeeper, Abubakari Damba, has offered a well-timed suggestion following the exit of the Black Maidens, from the ongoing U17 women’s world cup on penalties to Mexico.
Reacting to the Maidens 4-2 penalty shootout loss, Damba, has criticized the decision of the goalkeeper’s trainer, Samira Sulemana, for throwing the second choice goalkeeper onto the pitch without any physical preparedness.
According to Damba in an interview with Happy FM, it was an unfortunate decision which is ultimately unfair to the young goalkeeper.
Having held the North Americans to a grueling 2-2 drawn game within regulation time, Cynthia Konlan was brought on for the penalties shootout with a minute left to play in injury time.
But Damba, believes it would have been prudent to introduce the goalkeeper for a minimum 5 minutes to full time, to get her warmed up into the game. He has, however, called for an introduction of an autonomous goalkeeping department, streamlined with proper policies at all levels of our game, from the national team through to club sides.
Ghana, has been denied several opportunities of advancing to next stages of competitions and the winning of laurels through penalties. This, according to Damba, is gradually becoming a national cause for worry.
The black maidens reached the quarter finals for the third time in seven appearances at the FIFA U17 world Cup, scoring a total of 12 goals in 4 matches.
