The National U-20 female team, the Black Princesses drew with the Young Copper Queens of Zambia in the first leg of the FIFA U-20 World Cup qualifier at the Nkoloma Stadium in Zambia.
The Princess started the game well with pressing football in the opening exchanges but could not test the Zambians.
Skipper of the side, Evelyn Badu was presented with the first chance in the 10th minute but cross went over the bar much to the relief of the home team.
Then on, the Young Copper Queens pushed for a goal but were denied by shot stopper, Konlan Cynthia who pulled a brilliant save to keep Ghana in the game.
After recess, the Princesses started well with good inter positional play causing problems for the Zambians but once again, the Ghanaians couldn’t make it count as they allowed their opponents to settle.
Rahama Jafar and Constance Agyemang were introduced in the second half of the game but that didn’t yield any results.
In stoppage time, Rahama had a glorious chance to win the game for the Princesses but her shot went straight right into the arms of Zambia goalkeeper Loveness Tonge.
The Princesses showed promise in the entire duration but their profligacy in front of goal caused the win as the referee blew her whistle to bring proceedings to an end.
For Coach Ben Fokuo, his team will come back stronger in the return leg in Accra.
‘We didn’t get the results we wanted but we will do our homework and hopefully win the game in Ghana’’ he said.
My players had lots of chances but couldn’t convert them so we will work on goal scoring as well. I am proud of how the team played. In a Game of football, draw is also part of it so we will go back and work harder’’ he added.
The Black Princesses will host the Young Copper Queens of Zambia in the return leg on Sunday, December 18, 2021 in Accra.
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