Mauritius captain Jonathan Bru insists the side was not star-struck in suffering the 7-1 demolishing at the hands of Ghana on Sunday.
Les Dodos could only manage a solitary consolation goal as they were cut into pieces by the Black Stars in the opening 2017 AFCON qualifier in Accra.
The Mauritians played as if they were intimidated by the array of stars in the ranks of the Black Stars.
They struggled to fashion out goal scoring opportunities except for minimal attempts to capitalize on petty mistakes made by the home side.
Many at the stadium felt the Mauritians got star-struck but captain Bru, who plays for Portuguese second-tier side Oliveirense, dismisses this assertion.
“I don’t think we respect too much the players of our opponent,” he said.
“We tried to do our best but this is the difference between us and the Black Stars. That is it.”