Well, the Serbian magic has worked again for the Black Stars. Coach Milovan Juvenac, like his predecessor, Ratomir Dujkovic has managed to steer the senior Ghana national football team on the path to another World Cup qualification.

The Stars beat unsung Lesotho 3-0 in the last preliminary group match at the packed to capacity Chinese-built sports stadium, in Sekondi on Saturday to merit inclusion in Africa’s top 12 teams to gain automatic qualification for the next round of the World Cup qualifiers.

The 3-0 win may be a tidy score-line all right, especially if you consider the fact the Stars started the series with a similar 3-0 defeat over Libya, but football purists will tell you that the team’s total output in Sekondi was almost colourless. There was scanty finesse in the style of play, at times unimaginative and superfluous square passes, lack of dribbling skills and woeful lack of accurate shooting in front of goal.

In sum, coach Milovan has a tough task ahead. If he needs to dive into the bottom of the sea to unearth dribblers and goal poachers he must hurry up. With this kind of static play with only a quarter of begging scoring chances being utilized, the going will definitely be tough in the final stages ,where we would have to remain in top gear to see South Africa 2010.

A top striker like Manuel Agogo gives the impression that his contribution only lasts 45 minutes. The way he misses chances is extremely discouraging and it would be in his own interest to polish his work rate and striking power. Another suggestion is that the coaches must try as much as possible to take quick decisions on substitutions. It is true that some players can make a difference even if brought in during injury time but when certain players are constantly made last minute substitutes without success then there definitely should be a change in strategy.

Now that assistant coach Kwasi Appiah appears to have settled his contractual problems with the Ghana Football Association, he should have a clear mind to help the Serbian mould the team for the arduous task ahead. What is puzzling the football public however, is why Appiah should have a one- year contract as against three for the Serbian. The assumption is that all parties are comfortable with this arrangement and what football loving Ghanaians want to see is a formidable national team that is worth paying to watch.

It was a good experiment that the Football Association decided to move the match to Sekondi for the benefit of football fans from the Western Region, known for their craze for attractive football. Incidentally the match coincided with the qualification of the most popular club in the Western Region, Sekondi Eleven Wise, to the Premier league after 10 years in the wilderness and you could see that most people were in high spirits. The fans may not have fully enjoyed the unadventurous game exhibited by the Black Stars but they filled the stadium to capacity and they deserve another show in the next round matches.

Too bad that crowd control became lax at the initial stages and there was stampede at the main gate resulting in some casualties. Let’s have tighter security next time as Tamale awaits their turn to see the Black Stars in the World Cup round two qualifying series.