Libya coach reacts to 1-1 draw with Ghana

By Callum Paton. 

Tripoli, 18 January 2014:

Javier Clemente has said Libya responded well to an early Ghana goal to fight back for . . .[restrict]a draw in their second African Nations Championship match. The Libya coach said he couldn’t fault his players who had grown in strength throughout the game.

An early second half goal by Faisal Ali from a penalty after a foul by Ghana’s Nuru Sulley meant that Libya were able to salvage a point from the match. However a series of missed chances in the second half might have meant victory for the team and a far stronger standing going into the last match of the group stages.

At the final whistle, Clemente commented: “After a slow start and the shock of going behind to an early goal, we got ourselves back in the game and pegged back the Ghanaians and we could have got all three points tonight.” He added that the draw puts Libya in a good position to qualify for the knock-out round of the championship but added  that there was still work to be done before Libya could start thinking beyond their next game.

Yesterday’s result puts Libya joint-top of their group with Ghana but ahead on goal difference. The team faces Congo on Tuesday.  In a fluid group with only one point separating three of the four teams, there could still be dramatic changes to the standings. [/restrict]