BENIN STAND IN FLAMES’ WAY
Benin’s Squirrels stand in the Flames’ way in the quest for qualification for the group stages of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Benin will meet the Flames after ousting Sao Tome 4-0 on aggregate last Sunday. They won with 2-0 margins both away and at home.
The first leg against Benin will be played on July 2 away in Cotonou while the return fixture is slated for August 19.
Meanwhile, soccer commentators have said the Flames have a lot of homework to do if they are to overcome Benin, who boast a galaxy of Europe-based players that include their marksman and captain Stephane Sessegnon who plays for English Premiership side West Bromwich Albion and striker Razak Omotoyossi who plays for Kahramanmarasspor in Turkey.
Others include Frederic Gounongbe (Westerlo, Belgium), Rudy Gestede (Blackburn Rovers, England) and Mickael Pote (Dynamo Dresden, Germany) and vice-captain Mouritala Ogunbiyi (Nimes, France).
Veteran coach Yasin Osman and former Flames on-field leader Peter Mponda, said the Flames coaching panel needs to work a lot on the defensive frailties and lack of coordination in midfield.
“Benin are a stronger side compared to Chad, but if we can work on our shortfalls, we should pull through.
“If the performance in the games against Zimbabwe and Chad is anything to go by, then we need to concentrate more on reorganising our defence and midfield. The defence is not confident and organised enough. There is also a clear lack of coordination. It could be because some of them are new.
“We also do not have a dominant player in midfield. There’s no playmaker who can dictate play and we cannot keep the ball. We are failing to string three to four passes,” said Osman who once had a stint with the Flames as caretaker coach.
Mponda agreed with Osman, adding that while the Flames have good individual players, the team’s weakness lies in playing pattern.
“To make the team play as a unit is proving to be a problem, but with time I am sure the coaches will work on that,” said Mponda.
Meanwhile, Flames coach Young Chimodzi yesterday told MBC Radio 2 that the Flames need to improve on defending and building up attacks.
“Some of the goals that we conceded in Chad could have been avoided if we were alert and more organised. But we are still in the process of building up the team. Hopefully, playing more friendly matches will help us to improve on our weak areas,” said Chimodzi
Benin are ranked 97th on Fifa rankings while Flames are 122nd. They are 25 places above and have qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations three times (2004, 2008 and 2010) while Flames were there in 1984 and 2010.
Since last June, Benin have played six games, winning three, losing two and drawing one. They have won against Sao Tome (twice) and Rwanda; lost to Algeria (1-3) and Libya (0-1) and drew with Mali 2-2.
