Ghana’s Black Starlets surrendered a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 with Algeria in their opening match of the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco on Thursday evening.
The two-time African under 17 champions made a blistering start at the Mohamed VI Football Complex in Rabat, racing into a commanding lead within the opening 12 minutes and looking firmly on course for victory.
Striker Yao Gavi gave Ghana the perfect start when he opened the scoring just three minutes into the encounter. The forward reacted quickest inside the area and calmly finished to hand the Black Starlets an early advantage.
The Ghanaian side continued to dominate the opening exchanges and doubled their lead nine minutes later through a stunning effort from midfielder Eric Gyamfi.
After collecting a pass from deep inside his own half, Gyamfi noticed the Algerian goalkeeper off his line and unleashed an audacious long-range strike from around the center circle. The ball sailed over the stranded goalkeeper and into the net to give Ghana a deserved 2-0 lead.
The Black Starlets looked comfortable for much of the first half, controlling possession and limiting Algeria’s attacking opportunities as they carried their advantage into the break.
Algeria Fight Back in the Second Half
Algeria returned for the second half with renewed intensity and gradually began to put Ghana under sustained pressure. Their persistence paid off in the 57th minute when Adam Benali pulled one back to spark hopes of a comeback for the North Africans.
Just three minutes later, Algeria found the equalizer through Melwane Zaidi, who scored to level the honours at 2-2 and completely shift the momentum of the match.
The equalizer rattled the Black Starlets, who suddenly found themselves struggling to regain the control they enjoyed in the opening half.
Algeria nearly completed a remarkable turnaround in the 67th minute after being awarded a penalty following a foul inside the area. Ilyas Grini stepped up with the chance to put his side ahead for the first time in the game, but Ghana goalkeeper Solomon Kesse produced an outstanding save to keep the scores level.
Kesse’s save proved crucial as it gave the Black Starlets renewed belief during the closing stages of the match. Both teams continued to search for a winning goal in an entertaining final period, creating several dangerous moments in attack.
Despite the end-to-end action, neither side managed to find the decisive breakthrough and the match eventually ended in a 2-2 draw, forcing both teams to settle for a point each in their opening Group D fixture.
The result leaves Ghana with mixed feelings after allowing a comfortable early lead to slip away, though the Black Starlets can still take positives from their attacking display in the opening stages of the game.
South Africa Take The Lead in Group D
Elsewhere in Group D, South Africa moved to the top of the standings after securing a 2-1 victory over 2023 champions, Senegal, earlier in the day.
The Black Starlets will now shift their attention to a crucial second group game against Senegal on Sunday, May 17, where victory could significantly boost their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
Ghana will then conclude their group campaign against South Africa three days later in what could prove to be a massive encounter in the race for qualification to the quarterfinals and a place at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
READ ALSO: Support Mahama to Succeed, Asiedu Nketiah Urges Party Supporters
