The Black Starlets hopes of making a return to the next edition of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations were dashed on Saturday as they lost to Burkina Faso.
Ghana lost 2-1 to the Stallions at the University of Ghana Stadium as they exited the WAFU B U-17 Africa Cup of Nations in the semifinal stage.
Joseph Narbi scored a first-half equaliser after the Burkinabes had taken the lead but it was all Ghana could get as Asharaf Tapsoba netted a brace.
A delightful through ball led to a miscommunication between the Ghana defence as goalkeeper Michale Armah and his defender made a mess out of the ball.
Asharaf Tapsoba took advantage of their mistake and fired the ball into an empty net to give the Stallions the lead.
Laryea Kingston's side, going down for the first time in the competition, reacted very well to the goal conceded.
They possessed the ball well and created a few changes that should have ended up on the back of the net but the final touch was the missing link.
However, they got the equaliser in the 27th minute as Joseph Narbi's curled effort beat the goalkeeper and ended up in the top right corner.
Brilliant long ball from Nortey in the buildup to the Black Starlets equaliser.
— Lawrence Degraft Baidoo (@kweku_lawrence) May 25, 2024
Joseph Narbi goes on to score to make it 1-1. pic.twitter.com/uWg0l8pGGM
The Starlets regrouped after Burkina Faso cleared their lines from a corner but Abdulai Nortey's long ball into the box found Benjamin Tsevanyo who also laid one off for Narbi's third goal of the tournament.
Godfred Sarpong should have made it 2-1 for Ghana but his effort went just wide of the Burkina Faso goal while the latter also missed a clear-cut opportunity to restore their lead.
The two teams headed into the break with one goal apiece at the University of Ghana Stadium.
Three minutes after the recess, Burkina Faso were back in the lead again.
Asharaf Tapsoba made a good run in between Ghana's centre-backs before he hit a low strike past Armah to make it 2-1.
Ghana worked their socks off to try and get the equaliser but failed to penetrate into the box of Burkina Faso on several occasions.
At the end of 90 minutes, Kingston's side fell short in their attempts as they lost 2-1.
The defeat also means they fail to secure a ticket to next edition of the U-17 AFCON with Burkina Faso ending their journey in the last two attempts.
Credit: Lawrence Degraft Baidoo
