Sellas Tetteh believes his national U-20 can still reach the African Youth Championship finals despite making hard work of their first leg tie in Accra.

The Black Satellites will take a slim 2-1 advantage into the return leg in Banjul against Gambia as they seek a first appearance at the tournament since 2003.

They will be strong at home but we have what it takes to go to Banjul and get a result

But the road to Rwanda 2009 has been made tougher for the Satellites even though Tetteh is convinced his side still has what it takes to qualify.

"We should have been going into the return leg with a better advantage but this is not the end of the world," he told kickoffGhana.com.

"The Gambians came here and got a result they want but we can also do same."

Tetteh's side lacked the fluidity that saw them overcome Angola in the first leg and Ransford Osei's penalty miss added to a frustrating afternoon.

But Tetteh claimed they had played well and only been undone by a side that knew what it was about. "I think we played very very well. We were on top of the game for most spells and sometimes it happens that you play well and don't win by as much as you want. But give credit to the Gambians.

"They are strong, experienced and knew what they were about. I am sure they will be strong at home but we have what it takes to go to Banjul and get a result," Tetteh said.

Ghana is desperate to reach the African Youth Championships after two failed attempts and the return leg will be not just a test of the Satellites credentials but of Tetteh's abilities too.

He has supervised one failed attempt to qualify for the African U-17 and another reversal with the U-20s could knock back a lot of the progress he has made as a coach.