Ghana’s U-20 team, the Black Satellites, earned a vital 2-2 draw against Benin in their opening match of the WAFU Zone B tournament, which is currently ongoing in Togo, on Thursday.
Jerry Afriyie netted the opener, but Benin levelled shortly after with a precise header from Modeste Konoudji in the 27th minute. Just before halftime, the Young Cheetahs took the lead again, leaving Ghana in a precarious position.
Deep into stoppage time (92nd minute), Afriyie dramatically erased the deficit with a successful penalty kick to get his second of the night, levelling the score at 2-2 and earning Ghana a vital point.
In his post-match interview, Desmond Ofei, Ghana’s U-20 coach, admitted his side struggled to implement their game plan on the night.
“It was a tough match, the opponent came with a plan, they chose to play direct and we found it a bit difficult to come into our game.”
“If you look at the goals I think we were a bit unlucky, especially the second goal, but all in all we did everything possible not to lose today and it’s very important for us,” He said.
Despite making a slow start to the tournament, as Ghana bids to qualify for the 2025 U-20 AFCON, the gaffer has expressed optimism about his team’s chances after their draw against Benin.
“We are very happy that we’ve found our rhythm in the end because for us like I said it took a while to get our balance right but I’m sure now the stress is gone and we look forward to playing Niger. Of course, we have amazing players, we have top top quality players like I said in every tournament it is quite difficult to get into the rhythm immediately but how we ended the game; I’m very proud of the boys so very, very confident,” he added.
Desmond Ofei and his boys will be aiming to return to the continent’s biggest tournament at the U-20 level and repeat their 2021 success after failing to qualify for the 2023 edition.
Ghana’s next match will be against Niger at the Stade Municipal on Sunday, October 20, before battling it out with host nation Togo in their last group stage match.
Source:
3news.com
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