The Black Maidens of Ghana secured an important away win over Guinea in the qualification round of the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup on Saturday afternoon.
Ghana recorded a resounding victory over the female national U-17 side of Guinea in the first leg tie of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers at the Stade Général Lansana Conté de Nongo in Conakry.
Coach Baba Nuhu’s charges exercised their attacking muscles to register two goals in the half-hour mark of the fixture. The Black Maidens, who are in search for their seventh consecutive World Cup ticket, commenced the fixture on a good note to stage an intense pressure on the hosts. The intense pressure piled up on the Guineas saw the Black Maidens grabbing the opener through Georgina Ayisha Aoyem on the 13th minute.
Skipper Georgina Ayisha Aoyem opened the floodgate after making a good use of corner-kick effected by her teammate Stella Nyamekye. Ghana looked more dangerous upfront with some fearsome attacks after getting the lead before the quarters of the fixture.
Pearlpia Ladies winger Rasheeda Shahadu extended the lead for the Maidens with a powerful drive on the 30th minute of the game. Ghana held on with the 2-0 lead to end the first half of the game. Back from the break, the Guineans warmed themselves into the match to pull one back on the 58th minute.
The Black Maidens who were resilient to secure all the needed points to make ahead of the second leg tie responded with another strike through Mariama Maltiti after just two minutes of conceding. Coach Baba Nuhu introduced fresh legs as Karim Abdulai, Takia Zakaria and Asana Alhassan replaced Stella Nyamekye, Rasheeda Shahadu and Constance Agyeman respectively.
Black Maidens were hoping to run riot in the last ten minutes of the fixture but most of their efforts went wide. A late header from Success Ameyaa to make it four for the Black Maidens was denied by the woodwork. The fixture ended in a 3-1 victory for the Black Maidens. The reverse leg tie will be played at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium on April 30.
Ghana have never missed the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup since 2008 and will be looking forward to secure a ticket to the next edition of the tournament which will be staged in India. The Black Maidens have made it the quarter-final stage in the last three editions of the tourney. Three African nations would represent the continent at the 2022 FIFA U-17 World Cup in India from 11th October 2022 to 30th October 2022.
