Andoh’s matchwinner overshadowed by ‘cheat’ claims
Enoch Andoh scored the winning goal for Ghana U23 but the game was overshadowed by comments of “over age” players by the Congo coach.
Andoh scored the winner in a 1-0 first-leg win but Congo coach Claude le Roy commented: “Ghana won with a nice goal but here is a Congo side with six players who are all of the right age, not like some players in the Ghana team today.
I coached some of the players who played today in the Chan qualifiers in 2008. I went to Niger with them and I know what I’m talking about…
“I coached some of the players who played today in the Chan qualifiers in 2008. I went to Niger with them and I know what I’m talking about.
“I am not joking my brother, you can check. Some played with me way back in 2008 and they are now under-23 playing today. It’s not fair.”
”I left Ghana in 2008. Some of the players I saw today were part of that Chan team, so how are they 23 years or less?”
“I don’t want to go into all that now because I have only one week to prepare my team for the second leg, but you journalists here know that what I am saying is the truth.”
African website supersport.com commented that “Supersport.com checks have confirmed that indeed the Port Vale winger was a member of Le Roy’s 18-man Local Black Stars squad that travelled to defeat Niger 2-1 in a Chan qualifier on April 12, 2008. Supersport can, however, not ascertain Le Roy’s claims of age cheating as Ebo Andoh at the time, was one of the fast rising youngsters at the now relegated King Faisal FC of Kumasi. No other player in the current Ghana U-23 team ever worked under the French coach.”
Wikipedia has Andoh’s date of birth as the 1st January 1993 which would have made him 15 years old when he played in the 2008 match for Ghana U23’s.