The Black Princesses of Ghana defeated their Eswatini counterparts 2-0 in the second leg of the third round of the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, November 19, 2023.
The victory propelled the Ghanaians to the next stage of the qualifiers with an 8-1 aggregate ,after having recorded a 6-1 win in the first leg in Eswatini last Sunday.
Coch Yusif Basigi’s team started the match aggressively in search of an early goal which yielded results in the sixth minute when Beline Nyarkoh connected home a pass from Success Ameyaa.
Right after the opener, the Princesses regrouped and continued in search of more goals and in the 11th minute, Sarah Nyarko fired home the second goal after receiving a cross from Wasiima Mohammed.
After taking the lead, the Princesses failed to utilise the numerous scoring chances they created, despite dominating the game.
Unyielding Eswatini
Ghana dominated the exchanges and which was mostly played in the half of the visitors, but they made sure to frustrate the Princesses’ efforts to increase the tally.
Eswatini played a defensive game and made sure the Princesses could not have more scoring opportunities, with goalkeeper Nompilo Dlamini producing some significant saves to keep the scoreline low.
The Ghanaians kept pushing, but Dlamini was always at the right place and at the right time to prevent more goals from entering her net.
Right from the break, Coach Basigi made two changes, bringing on Yazdadatu Suleman for Jacqueline Amponsah, while Rose Boakyewaa replaced Sarah Nyarko to augment the team.
Later Abiba Issah replaced Takia Zakaria, Ameyaa made way for Mary Awuah Boateng, while Felicia Owusu took over from Fatimatu Fuseini. The changes almost yielded results as Boakyewaa came close to scoring in the 68th and 71st minutes after breaking away from her markers but missed the target on both occasions.
Despite the substitutions and the several chances created, the Princesses could not find the back of the net again as the Eswatini proved their mettle in the second half to ensure that the scores stood at 2-0 till the final whistle.
Source: GraphicOnline
