Ghana's Laryea regrets exit

By Eva Okyere

Laryea Kingston was suspended for Ghana's game with Zimbabwe

Ghana midfielder Laryea Kingston has expressed guilt about the Black Stars first-round exit from the African Cup of Nations.

Kingston missed the Black Stars final group game against Zimbabwe, which they lost 2-1, after picking up a red card in their previous game against Senegal, which led to a four-match suspension.

"I feel very bad about it because most people back home will say the problem is from me. If I had been in the team, things could have been different," Kingston told BBC Sport.

"I'm very disappointed about the situation because my aim is to let people in Africa and the world know me. It's very unfortunate that I had problems in this tournament," he lamented.

Kingston watched from the stands as his colleagues succumbed to defeat against the Southern Africans.

"This was the first time I was not playing with my colleagues and I felt I had let the team down," he intimated.

Like most Ghanaian fans at the Ismailia Stadium on Tuesday, the player admitted that the Black Stars played poorly against the Zimbabweans.

"I don't know what was wrong with the team. But we did not have six key players on the field and it affected the way we played."

In the meantime, the Ghana Football Association has appealed to the Confederation of African Football against Kingston's record ban.

Meanwhile, the player joins his new club Lokomotiv Moscow at their training camp in Spain on Thursday.

The Russian club are preparing for their Uefa cup tie with Sevilla on 15 February.