Ghana captain Andre Ayew has defended his team's much-criticised first-half performance against Guinea-Bissau at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt on Tuesday.
An underwhelming first-half showing in the last Group F fixture at the Suez Stadium saw the Black Stars head into the break at 0-0. But then two second-half goals from Jordan Ayew and Thomas Teye Partey ultimately secured a 2-0 triumph for James Appiah's men, sending them through to the Round of 16 as group winners.
"The first-half was good if you look at it in my perspective because Guinea-Bissau were fresh like us,” Ayew said after the match.
“It was a difficult game but we controlled it because we had the best chances. We could have scored and opened up in the first-half but we stayed true to our game.
“When you have a team like Ghana and our offensive power, as long as we don’t concede and stay tactically [in shape], we can get a goal.
"That’s our strength and we’re sticking with that because we’ve have recorded two clean sheets.
“We need keep working hard, and the fans should also keep supporting us and we’re going to give hundred per cent."
Ghana will face Tunisia in the Round of 16 on Monday.
The Black Stars, on the search for their fifth continental title and their first since 1982, have progressed to the knockout stage at Afcon for the seventh time in a row - 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019.
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