Ghana’s Black Meteors put a foot forward in the first leg of the 2023 CAF U-23 Championship qualifiers, beating Mozambique 2-1 at the Estadio Nacional do Zimpeto in Maputo, yesterday.
Two second half strikes from the spot, converted by Daniel Afriyie Barnieh were enough to hand the Black Meteors the advantage ahead of the second leg in Ghana.
The Mambin has started well and needed Danlad Ibrahim to pull an excellent save to keep the Ghanaians in the game.
Afriyie and Sylvester Simba warmed themselves into the game and kept the Mozambican defence busy throughout the half, but failed to find the back of the net.
The game became intense in the second half, with both teams finding ways to undo each other’s defence.
Skipper Barnieh was presented with an opportunity to open the scoring in the 63rd minute and he made no mistake in planting the ball.
Twelve minutes later, the Black Meteors were up 2-0 with skipper Barnieh converting from the spot kick again and was unlucky when he missed another chance to record a hat-trick.
The host snatched a goal with two minutes to go as Pinho stabbed home with Ibrahim Danlad’s spill from a shot.
The Black Meteors would host the return leg this weekend at the Kumasi Baba Yara Stadium, with the aggregate winner moving on to face either DR Congo or Algeria in the third and final round of qualifiers scheduled for March 2023.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
