Black Starlets held to a draw in U-17 AFCON Opener
Ghana’s Black Starlets blew away a 2-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Algeria in their opening game at the CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Ghana’s U-17 team took a commanding lead in the first 12 minutes of the game as they raced into a 2-0 lead.
Striker Yao Gavi opened the game’s scoring when he found the net just three minutes into the game at the Mohamed VI Football Complex in Rabat.
Nine minutes later, midfielder Eric Gymafi scored what could be a contender for the goal of the tournament. He collected a pass from the defense and just from the center circle, he unleashed a long range strike that beat the Algerian goalkeeper who was spotted off his line.
Algeria Fight Back in the Second Half
In the second half, the Algerians came with renewed belief and recouped their deficit just 15 minutes into the second half.
Adam Benali and Melwane Zaidi scored in the space of three minutes in the 57th minute and 60th minute to level the score at 2-2.
Seven minutes after the equalizer, Algeria had the chance to take the lead for the first time in the game after being awarded a spot kick. However, Ghana keeper Solomon Kesse produced a magnificent save to deny Ilyas Grini.
Despite both sides pushing for a late winner which proved elusive, they both settled for a point each in Group D.
South Africa Take The Lead in Group D
South Africa have taken the lead on the group standing in Group D after beating Senegal 2-1 earlier in the day.
They now sit atop with 3 points while Algeria and Ghana sit 2nd and 3rd respectively. 2023 champions Senegal are bottom of the group with zero points.
The Black Starlets next fixture is against Senegal on Sunday 17 May before they take on South Africa in the last group game three days later.