The Black Galaxies of Ghana beat bitterest rivals Nigeria by 2-0 at the Cape Coast Stadium in the first leg encounter of the 2023 Championship of African Nations qualifiers.
Second half goals from Hearts of Oak duo, Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Suraj Seidu, propelled the Ghanaians to the sweet victory.
The Galaxies started really well, having taken the game under their total control but finding the spaces through the Nigerian backline was their major problem in the opening minutes.
Nigeria weren’t that explosive but were really well organised at the back ensuring no penetration for their opponents
Nigeria came so close to scoring on the 21st minute, after Baba Tunde’s long corner kick delivery fell on the head of Adamu Abubakar at far post, but the direction was poor as it went out for a restart.
A quick response from Black Galaxies saw Dennis Korsah pick up Suraj Seidu in the box with a decent ball from the left, but the former was penalised for controlling with his hands.
David Abagna substituted Evans Osei-Wusu, and came in on a higher note, as his first touch of the ball nearly gave Ghana the lead on the 40th minute mark, but his header from Awako’s free kick landed on the roof of the post.
It finished goalless at half time. In the second half, the Black Galaxies started on an explosive note and came in strongly on their opponents, which resulted in a penalty for the host, after the ball went off the hand of a Nigerian defender in the box.
Daniel Afriyie Barnieh stepped up and converted beautifully to put Ghana in front in the 49th minute.
The Ghanaians nearly doubled their lead eight minutes later after David Abagna combined nicely with Attuquaye, but the latter’s drive went wide.
Nigeria made a rare breakthrough in the 60th minute through Johnson Nwobodo who quickly raced his way into the box, but was subsequently stopped as the ball rolled over for a wasted corner kick.
Nigeria went on a counter again from the right, with Eugene Martin as the initiator, but his cross to the far post was gathered by goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim.
Ghana finally doubled their lead with four minutes to full time through Seidu Suraj, after a decent build up.
The match ended 2-0 for Ghana after full time. The return leg is scheduled for September 3, 2022 at Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.
Credit: kickgh.com
