WAFU Zone B Championship: It was a good win against Ivory Coast
Laryea Kingston
Black Starlets coach, Laryea Kingston, expressed his elation following their impressive victory over Ivory Coast.
The Black Starlets secured a dominant 5-1 win over Ivory Coast in their opening match of the 2024 WAFU Zone B Championship at the University of Ghana Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
While celebrating the victory, Kingston acknowledged the challenge posed by the Ivorian side, making it difficult for his team to showcase their skills on the field.
“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 of 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,” he added.
Despite the tough challenge, Ghana took the lead in the 27th minute through Joseph Narbi, who doubled the score in the 42nd minute, giving Ghana a comfortable 2-0 lead at halftime.
In the second half, Godfred Sarpong extended Ghana’s lead to 3-0 in the 48th minute, followed by Harve Gbafa making it 4-0 in the 53rd minute.
Although Ivory Coast managed to score a consolation goal, Mark Kagawa Mensah sealed Ghana’s victory with their fifth goal in the 90+1 minute.
Ghana will face Benin in their final Group A match in six days.