By Francis Ofori
Accra, March. 28, GNA – Ghana’s Under-23 side, the Black Meteors have booked a place in the 2023 Under-23 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in Morocco after defeating Algeria by a lone goal at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Tuesday.
An early minute goal from Fatawu Issahaku at the football capital separated the boys from the men as Ghana seek to make their second appearance at the continental party with a 2-1 aggregate win.
The Ghanaian side were the favorites from the start of the game, testing the Algerian goalkeeper with some long shots to announce their presence.
It was Ernest Nuamah who managed to beat his marker in the early minutes of the game with a brilliant cross on the left flanks which gave Fatawu Issahaku the opportunity to finish off with a beautiful header to get Ghana in the lead.
The partnership between the Ghanaian attackers was one to commend as they kept on sharing the passes in the half of their opponents with no sign of hunger for more goals.
Afriyie Barnieh and Fatawu Issahaku also dominated play giving the Algerians no rest in their half but could not find the net for the meteors.
Algeria took advantage of that and got back into the game but Black Meteors cemented their defence, giving the North African side no chance to find their way out.
After several efforts to double their lead, Coach Ibrahim Tanko’s men failed to complete their mission as the first half of the game ended 1-0.
After recess, Ghana maintained the composure upfront with Ernest Nuamah once again as the main man who kept the defense of the visitors on their toes with his solid runs.
Algeria was lost in the middle of game which left them with no choice than to test Ghanaian shot-stopper, Danlad Ibrahim with some long range shots in between the sticks getting to the 80th minute.
The dying minutes of qualification decider witnessed the Ghanaian side show their skills as the shared the passes like it was nobody’s business, leaving their opponents in a state of confusion.
The center referee after an additional minute of four, ended the game in favour of coach Ibrahim Tanko’s side.
The U-23 AFCON tournament is slated for 24th June,2023 to 8th July,2023 in Morocco.
Ghana made its debut appearance in the AFCON tournament in 2019 after losing to Ivory Coast to finish fourth place.
GNA