Ghana beat Togo 3-0 to qualify for WAFU U17 semifinals
The Black Starlets of Ghana have booked themselves a place in the semis of the 2022 WAFU Zone B U17 Championship after walloping Togo in their final Group A fixture on Friday afternoon.
The Ghana U17 exercised their attacking muscles in the second half to record a 3-0 convincing win over Togo in the ongoing WAFU U17 Championship at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium.
Coach Paa Kwesi Fabin made three changes in his starting line up that suffered a humiliation in the Group A opener against Nigeria as goalkeeper Shaibu Rafique, Richard Aweh and Abdul Razak Salifu were handed starting berth.
The Black Starlets enjoyed majority of the possession in the first department of the game but the Ghanaians were wasteful upfront.
PAC Academy youngster Andrews Appiah was a difficult customer for the Togo U17 side as he kept dazzling the backline on flanks in the first half.
On the 36th minute, Ghana came close to open the score through Yakubu Adams but his powerful drive was brilliantly fisted out by goalkeeper Komlan Kitti.
The Togolese gained possession to dominate the last five minutes of the first half but none of their efforts earned them the opener as the first half ended in a scoreless draw.
In the second half, the Black Starlets commenced on a good note with an intense pressure on the Togolese to opened the score after just nine minutes from the break.
Young forward Pius Adua snatched the lead for Ghana after tapping in a well-delivered pass from Andrews Appiah on the 54th minute of the game.
Ghana continued their dominance over the young sparrow hawks of Togo as Andrews Appiah kept tormenting the backline of the Togolese as his strike on the 69th minute was denied by the woodwork.
The Black Starlets came close once again to double the lead after mounting an intense pressure on the Togolese as an audacious strike from Baba Salifu Apiiga went straight into the woodwork.
Dreams FC sensation Abdul Razak Salifu brilliantly double the score after a solo run to slot the ball firmly into Komlan Kitti’s net on the 77th minute of the game.
Three minutes later, Ghana extended the lead via a spot-kick after skipper Collins Agyemang elected himself to convert the penalty awarded to his side on the 79th minute.
Ghana continued their second half dominance over the Togolese in the last ten minutes of the game as Abdul Razak Salifu and Richard Apokum came close to extend the lead for the Black Starlets but the individual brilliance of goalkeeper Komlan Kitti denied them from scoring in the dying embers as the game ended in a 3-0 win for the host nation.
Following the win, Ghana have qualified to the semi-finals of the 2022 WAFU Zone B U17 Championship after finishing second place in Group A with three points while Nigeria emerging as group winners with six points.
Ghana will know their opponents in the semis after the last round of games in Group B.
