By: Nana Kwame Bediako
A poised performance saw Ghana defeat Nigeria by 2-1 at the Cape Coast Stadium on Thursday, March 21, 2024, to win gold. The game had a strong sense of tempo written around it as both teams displayed great character and passion on the pitch.
Nigeria came to the party as early as possible, as they took the lead in the 24th minute of play, capitalising on a mistake from Ghana’s goalkeeper, Afi Amenyeku. After going ahead in the early minutes, the Nigerian side didn’t look like slowing down any time soon.
As the match geared towards the last minutes, the Black Princesses started to create more chances in the box of the Falconets, forcing them to sit back and protect their lead before they fell victim to any upset from Ghana.
Ghana’s determination and focus finally paid off as Tracey Twum equalised in the 77th minute to pump some life into the game, growing the momentum of the Ghanaian players to go for gold at the end.
Mukarama Abdulai lit up the stadium with her spectacular winning goal in the 98th minute, sending Ghana to the promised land as they secured gold on home soil by inflicting defeat on the defending champions, Nigeria.
