Ghana recorded an impressive 3-1 win against Guinea in the 1st leg of the FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup India 2022, third round qualifier in Conakry on Saturday.
Captain Georgina Aoyem opened the scoring for the Black Maidens after latching on a Comfort Yeboah corner kick which was headed down by Zuleiha Fuseini before slotting home in the 13th minute.
Goalkeeper Amina Ahamadu came to the rescue of the Maidens by clearing a header to prevent Guinea from equalizing on the 27th minute mark.
Rasheeda Shahadu increased the tally for Ghana after her left footed shot from outside the box zoomed into the right bottom corner of the post to give Ghana a 2-0 cushioning as the Maidens went into the break with an the advantage.
Guinea quickly regrouped after the break and reduced the deficit as they scored in the 47th minute after tapping in from close range to make it 2-1.
Striker Mariam Matiti Iddi’s tireless work upfront yielded results as she flicked on Success Ameyaa’s cross to register Ghana’s 3rd goal in the 59th minute.
The temp of the game dropped after the third but the Black Maidens showed a great level of experience and dexterity as they held on to win the 1st leg 3-1 in Conakry.
‘’Like I said before, we needed not to attack but wanted to stay from low to medium tempo before reorganizing’’ Coach Baba Nuhu said in a post-match interview with GFA Communications.
''After the first 12 to 15 minutes, I asked my players to relax, feel free and play their normal game. I think we squandered a lot of chances and it is a worry to me as a Coach.
''Going back home, we will work on converting those chances, because it is one thing to create chances and another to score and I think it will be worked on going forward’’ he added.
The 2nd leg would take place at the Cape Coast stadium on Saturday, April 30, 2022.
The Black Maidens are chasing a record 7th successive appearance at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
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