Black Stars skipper Andre Ayew has come to the aid for his teammate Caleb Ekuban after his penalty miss against Tunisia cost Ghana a place in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.

Ghana’s dream of ending a 37-year wait for a title was dashed after losing 5-4 on penalties to the Carthage Eagles after the match ended 1-1.

An own goal by Rami Bedoui cancelled out Taha Khenissi’s second-half strike as the game went into the extra time and subsequently into the shootout.

The North Africans converted all their spot-kicks with Ghana’s only miss coming from striker Caleb Ekuban.

Speaking to reporters after the match, Andre Ayew refused to play the blame game and accepted all responsibilities of the defeat as captain.

“We worked really hard from Dubai, we coped with all we wanted and fought as a team, Ghanaian and leader. No player here should be hold responsible, as a leader of the team I take all responsibilities for the players and we’re going to work and make sure we come back stronger.”

“The entire team gave their everything but like I said after the 90 minutes when the Tunisians were tired we dominated but we couldn’t get the second goal. The penalty is a 50-50 game sometimes you’re lucky and sometimes you’re not but I want to congratulate all the players because they showed a lot of determination.”