Goalkeeper Patricia Mantey will need a late fitness test to determine her role in Ghana’s must-win encounter with Cameroon in the final round of Group A at the ongoing 2018 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Friday.
The experienced shot-stopper, apparently, has been nursing some pains since Ghana’s pre-tournament tour of Zambia and Kenya.
According to head coach Bashir Hayford, the Black Queens first-choice suffered another setback in the 2-1 loss to Mali – a game in which her howlers saw the Black Queens conceding.
Speaking at pre-match conference, the Ghana coach said: “The goalkeeper [Mantey] had some knocks before we came down from Kenya.”
“Out of the three goalkeepers she is the number one and there is no doubt about that.
“The medical team have done a good job on her.
“In the last game, with the penalty she got a knock on her hand and as at now, she is 60% fit.
“I can’t tell if she will be in the post or not for tomorrow, we will wait until the final training to decide,” coach Hayford stated on Thursday.
Fafali Dumahisi and Nana Ama Asantewaa are the available options for Bashir Hayford to fall on should Mantey be ruled out.
Meanwhile, Gladys Amfobea, the scorer of Ghana and the 2018 AWCON’s first goal, was excused from training on Wednesday after reporting ill. The right-back is however expected to be fit enough to face Les Lionnes Indomptables.
The Ghana-Cameroon game kicks off at 16:00 GMT at the Accra Sports Stadium on Friday. Algeria and Mali also play simultaneously at Cape Coat as Group A determines its semi-finals candidates.
