The national female U-17 side, the Black Maidens, on Saturday defeated the Sparrow Hawks of Togo 6-0 in the second leg of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup (WWC) qualifiers, played at the Accra Sports Stadium.
With that emphatic victory, the Black Maidens qualified with an 8-0 aggregate win over the two legs to the next stage, having posted a 2-0 win in Togo a week ago.
Defender Juliana Gyekeyewaa set the tone for victory with a well-taken left-footed free kick from about 25 yards, which soared above goalkeeper Assana Ousmane in goal for the Hawks for the opener in the fifth minute.
The Togolese regrouped and chased the equaliser, but Captain of the side, Abigail Essodeessam Aawi’s shot on target two minutes later was easily dealt with by goalkeeper Belinda Maku Aklie.
The Maidens doubled the lead in the 13th minute through Zeinab Shani, who capitalised on a pass from Asamoah to slot home.
The Ghanaians probed for more goals, with numerous chances falling to Shani, Asamoah, and Priscilla Mensah, but they failed to convert.
Seven minutes after the goal, Sekinatu Amadu increased the tally to three, finishing off a beautiful solo run from behind the centre circle after being set up by skipper Seidatu Wahab.
The Sparrow Hawks nearly pulled a goal back in the 40th minute when a misplaced ball from goalkeeper Maku Aklie fell onto the path of Akossi Oumali, but shot feebly out of touch.
Two minutes before the break, Shani grabbed her second goal of the game after a pacey Asamoah found her in the box, allowing her to lob the ball into the roof of the net.
Coach Joe Nana Adarkwa’s side had to wait until the 78th minute for their fifth goal through Mensah, whose header from a corner proved too powerful for skipper Ablavi Martine Adjoda, whose attempted goal line clearance went into her own goal.
Skipper Wahab put the icing on the cake with a thunderous 35-yard strike that zoomed into the roof of the net four minutes into stoppage time.
The victory sees Ghana progress to the next stage of the qualifiers, where they will face the Liberia U-17 Women’s national team after Liberia advanced via a walkover against Libya.
Ghana is expected to host the first leg between May 22 and 24 at the Accra Sports Stadium before travelling for the return fixture between May 29 and 31 at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium (ATS) in Monrovia, Liberia.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEY
