In a thrilling encounter at the WAFU B U-17 tournament, the Black Starlets of Ghana secured a resounding 5-1 victory over Ivory Coast.
However, head coach Laryea Kingston acknowledged that the Ivorian side posed a significant challenge for his team, making it difficult for them to express themselves on the pitch.
Speaking after the game, Kingston praised the Ivorian technical team for their tactical approach, which made it hard for the Black Starlets to maintain possession.
“It is a joy we have to enjoy and have today but trust me like I said last time it wasn’t an easy game the Ivorians are a very good side,” he said.
“Thumbs up to their technical team they have done a very good job they made it very difficult for us we are a ball-playing team but because the way the Ivorians are playing we found it difficult to keep the ball.
“Like I said earlier on we have a plan but we shouldn’t be prisoners to our plan we approached the game differently and tried to close down the space,”
Despite the challenges posed by the Ivorian side, the host team took the lead in the 27th minute through Joseph Narbi, who scored again in the 42nd minute to give Ghana a commanding 2-0 lead before halftime.
In the second half, Godfred Sarpong extended Ghana’s lead to 3-0 in the 48th minute, before Harve Gbafa made it 4-0 in the 53rd minute. Ivory Coast managed to pull one back with a consolation goal, but Mark Kagawa Mensah scored Ghana’s final goal in the 90+1 minute to seal the victory.
