The Ghana U-17 women’s football team, the Black Maidens, have advanced to the semi-finals of the inaugural WAFU B Girls Camp tournament at the Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence.
Despite conceding an early goal in the 12th minute from Benin’s Yenido Gandonou, the Black Maidens staged a remarkable comeback. Priscilla Mensah equalised in the 36th minute, and Gertrude Amoafoh scored a second before halftime to give Ghana a 2-1 lead.
Benin returned from the break with renewed determination, equalising early in the second half through another goal from Yenido Gandonou, who was later named the Most Valuable Player of the match. However, Ghana’s resilience paid off when Gertrude Amoafoh struck again in the dying moments of the game to seal a thrilling 3-2 victory and secure their place in the semi-finals.
Speaking after the game, Ghana’s first assistant coach praised the team’s perseverance but acknowledged Benin’s tactical improvement:
“Benin learnt from their mistakes in their opening game against us, and their tactical team punished us in the first 15 minutes of the game. Regardless, I’m impressed with our team’s performance and believe we will create more chances in our next game.”
Looking ahead, the coach expressed confidence in the team’s preparation: “We are ready for any team in this tournament and will approach each match with different strategies. It’s a step-by-step process for us.”
The Black Maidens have scored 7 goals in the tournament so far, with Christina Ashiaku netting 3 and Priscilla Mensah and Gertrude Amoafoh contributing 2 goals each. They have conceded 3 goals.
Ghana will await the outcome of the game between Nigeria and Ivory Coast to determine their semi-final opponent.
