AshantiGold coach Bashir Hayford was satisfied with his side’s barren stalemate with Berekum Chelsea at the Len Clay Stadium on Saturday.
Last Sunday, the defending league champions were bundled out of this year’s CAF Champions League by Algerian outfit MO Bejaia. They were therefore expected to beat the 2011 Premier League winners to enhance their chances of retaining the title they won last season.
But Berekum Chelsea produced a fantastic performance on the afternoon making it difficult for the strikers of the Miners to penetrate through the defence men of the Blues.
Speaking to the press after the game, the former Asante Kotoko trainer emphasized that though he players went through some difficulties in honouring their Champions League second tie he doesn’t believe it affected their output on the day.
‘’I dropped some boys which I felt they were too tired. It’s not easy at all. If you look at what they went through moving from Bejaia to Algiers to Istanbul, it was not good. But I’m not saying it’s the reason (why we drew). Some of them were tired so we needed to bring in fresh blood,’’ he explained.
Hayford handed Godfred Rockson, Emmanuel Nti Mensah and Frederick Quayson their debuts for the league champions and he tells the media that he was enthused with their performance on the afternoon.
‘’When you give them the opportunities, it helps you to know how and when to fix other players. I think they didn’t play badly. I understand so many things, so I’m not worried at all getting one point here,’’ last season’s Premier League best coach stated.
AshantiGold will trek to Kumasi to play Asante Kotoko in a match day 2 encounter which was postponed due to the Miners’ participation in the CAF Champions League.
By Daniel Osei