Andre Ayew was sent off in the first half
Andre Ayew expressed his disappointment in Ghana’s 3-2 defeat to Comoros in Tuesday’s Africa Cup of Nations match and bemoaned the decision to have him sent off.
Needing a win to fancy their chances of qualifying from Group C, Black Stars began the match on a bright note, however, it was the debutants who pulled a shock lead in the fourth minute through El Fardou Ben Nabouhane.
While the West Africans were trying to regroup, their ambition of winning was dented after Ayew was given his marching orders in the 25th minute by referee Boubou Traore.
After VAR replays, the 32-year-old was dismissed for a dangerous challenge on goalkeeper Salim Ben Boina.
That numerical disadvantage was a big blow for Milovan Rajevac’s men, who crumbled to the Afcon debutants – and in the process kissed the competition goodbye.
Ayew was left stunned by his early exit and expressed an apology to the people of Ghana for their shocking ouster from Cameroon 2021.
“I watched it and it’s not a red card,” Ayew told the media in the mixed zone.
“We didn’t make them [Ghanaians] proud, we take responsibility for that. We didn’t have a good Afcon.
“If you see the goal we conceded against Morocco and versus Gabon, you will see that we were unlucky.”
Since Ghana’s maiden appearance at Sudan 1957, this is the first time they would be crashing out of the group stage without winning a match. They last failed to progress from their Afcon group in 2006 (Egypt).
Even at this setback, the Al Sadd forward insisted that his teammates must accept responsibility and must learn from their failed expedition.
“I think we need to learn from this, we need to go back to the drawing board as the players move ahead,” he continued.
“We have to take criticism, apologise to the fans for not qualifying for the next round. We are disappointed because this is not Ghana.
“I think if you guys know me, I leave to fight another day. We are going to work hard and we are going to be back.”