‘We will not kill him’ – Akonnor defends Abalora

Ghana coach Charles Akonnor has jumped to the defence of under-fire Razak Abalora, saying the goalkeeper must be encouraged despite his poor performances for the Black Stars in recent games.

Abalora has come in for a lot of criticism after his howler led to Ghana’s defeat against Morocco in Tuesday’s international friendly match.

The Kotoko number one made a mess of Hakim Ziyech’s freekick in the 68th minute, resulting in a free header by El Yamiq as the Atlas Lions secured a 1-0 victory in Rabat.

It was his second howler in consecutive games and there have been calls for Abalora to be axed from the starting line-up. He has been starting because first-choice goalkeeper Richard Ofori is injured.

But, Akonnor has not lost faith in him.

The coach said: “He has made a mistake, he knows himself but we are not in the position to kill him. We need each and everyone to be at a good level.

Yes, we have to move on, we have to encourage him. He is a good goalkeeper. No doubt about that. We will not kill him; we will encourage him on how to improve.”

Black Stars are reported to have arrived in Ghana on Wednesday dawn to start preparations for their next friendly against Ivory Coast.

Source: 3news.com|Ghana

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