By: Nana Kwame Bediako
The Black Starlets continued from where they left off in their opening game as they hammered Benin by 2-0 in their final group game at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.
Mark Mensah broke the deadlock in the 19th minute as he managed to impressively beat his marker, handing him a nice opportunity on goal where he calmly chipped the ball over Benin goalkeeper Mohamed Katchkolo. Black Starlets weren’t done yet, as they added another goal three minutes after the first goal.
Black Starlets demonstrated some beautiful ‘tiki taka’ passes among themselves before finally landing the second goal with Theophilus Ayamga striking the ball hard and low from outside the 18-yard box, which left Mohamed Katchkolo with no chance but to let it rattle the back of the net.
Benin neutralised most of Ghana’s play by crawling into the game at some point, but they couldn’t manage a goal to stage a comeback. The Black Starlets, with their 5-1 and 2-0 victories against Côte d’Ivoire and Benin, pushed themselves up for a possible qualification spot in the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2017, as they are one win away from qualifying.
