By Francis Ofori
Accra, April 12, GNA – Evelyn Badu’s late strike helped the Black Queens of Ghana triumph over the Lioness of Senegal by a lone goal at the Accra Sports Stadium on Tuesday in an international friendly encounter.
It took the intervention of the 20-year-old to break the deadlock in the 84th minute of the game to give Ghana a 4-0 aggregate win.
The Lioness came into the clash as a side recovering from last Saturday’s 3-0 defeat hoping for a miracle this time round.
With few changes made from the last squad, Coach Nora Hauptel’s side maintained their composure right after the centre referee blew her whistle to kickstart the game.
The Queens pushed very hard in the early minutes looking for a goal, but the visitors played very well having learnt from their mistakes in the last encounter.
Senegal on the other hand felt relaxed in their half, giving the homers no breathing space to damage them this time round with some solid and impressive clearances.
Ghana kept on tormenting their opponents with long range shots and sharp runs into the 18-yard box hoping to break the deadlock but failed as the first 45 minutes ended goalless.
After recess, the journey to end the unbeaten run of the homers continued as the Lioness managed to get into the game with some beautiful play upfront.
The pep talk from the Senegalese gaffer really worked as the players kept their midfield and attack sharp but once again the Ghanaian defenders were difficult to beat.
Coach Nora’s magical substitute getting to the 70th minute got her side back into the game with the introduction of Adama Alhassan, Suzzy Dede and Victoria Osei.
It was Evelyn Badu who finally got that long awaited goal for the Ghanaian side in the 84th minute after she beautifully controlled and slotted in a long pass from the right wings.
Five minutes of added time was not enough for the Lioness as they bottled some crucial chances in the dying minutes.
After an exciting 90 minutes of action, the centre Referee finally brought the game to an end to give Ghana a second win over Senegal.
Coach Nora Hauptel and her charges have now won three consecutive friendly games and would hope to keep up their form ahead of upcoming major tournaments.
GNA