Former Ghana international Derick Boateng has spoken highly of his former Black Stars teammate Laryea Kingston after Kingston led the Black Starlets to a commanding victory over Ivory Coast in the WAFU Zone B U17 Africa Cup of Nations opener.
The Black Starlets began the competition impressively, thrashing the Ivorians 5-1 at the Legon Sports Stadium. Goals from Godfred Sarpong, Harve Gbafa, Mark Kagawa Mensah, and a brace from Joseph Narbi secured the emphatic victory on Wednesday.
Speaking to the media, the former Getafe midfielder praised Laryea Kingston as a top coach, highlighting his impressive work with the Ghana U17 team. "We have a very fantastic coach in the person of Laryea Kingston. He is a top coach for me. He is really doing a great job and I’m so happy for him. If he wins, we have all win. I’m happy he is doing a great job with the Black Starlets."
Boateng further emphasized Kingston's deep understanding of the game and the players. "Laryea came from that root, so I think he knows a lot about the games and tournament like this. You can see the players are playing for him. Anytime he steps onto the touch line to relay an information to the players, the game changes. Whenever players are ready to play for a coach, you have nothing to worry about. He doesn’t coach a lot because the guys know what to do already, which is really good."
The Black Starlets will face Benin next in their second game of the competition. The Ghana U17 team aims to secure qualification for the U17 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in seven years, with their last participation being in 2017.
