LeRoy salutes Ghanaian turnaround

Trailing 2-1 at half-time, a brilliant Quincy Owusu-Abeyie goal, plus strikes from Junior Agogo and Haminu Draman, ensured a 4-2 victory over Ivory Coast.

"My players were fantastic," said LeRoy after the match in Kumasi.

"I told them that maybe something would happen in the second half because we were still alive."

Despite failing to lead his team to the title on home soil, as Tunisia and Egypt have done in the past two tournaments, LeRoy is to be offered a new contract up to 2010 when his current deal expires in February.

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"Today I have to say a big thank you to my team and to the Ghana Football Association for all their support," said LeRoy. "I'm so happy we have won this game."

Ivory Coast coach Gerard Gili was shell-shocked after his team conceded four goals for the second game in a row.

"My players have had a good tournament and I think we could have won the game in the first half," he said.

"But Ghana came back well in the second half and we were beaten by the quality of their football."

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