Ghana’s semi-final qualification quest suffered a jolt after a shock 1-0 defeat to Mali on Tuesday in the second Group A 2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations match.
Ghana captain Elizabeth Addo climbed off the bench to level for Ghana through the spot after Mali had taken the lead in the first-half.
But the Eagles scored midway through the second-half and Ghana failed to come back.
Coach Bashir Hayford dropped captain Elizabeth Addo and Samira Suleman to the bench while young striker Jane Ayiyam and Grace Asantewaa started in their places.
Mali are familiar foes to Ghana after meeting them on more than two occasions. The Queens’ last meeting with Les Aiglonnes resulted in a 3-1 victory for then Kuuku Dadzie side. Linda Eshun, Elizabeth Addo and Samira Suleman were among the scorers at the Omnisports Ahmadou Ahidjo in Yaoundé.
Hayford’s ladies needed to improve their game to satisfy the demands of the home crowd after the underwhelming 1-0 win over Algeria last Saturday.
Portia Boakye’s 2nd minute free kick was palmed out for corner and the resultant kick was wasted.
While Grace Asantewaa dragged a low shot for the keeper to collect.
The second half saw impressive displays by Djurgarden forward Sherifatu Sumaila but she was unable to beat the Malian keeper.
Bashir Hayford introduced skipper Elizabeth Addo in the place of Priscilla Okyere and she made impact by winning a penalty which she managed to beat the Malian keeper with a neat side footing effort.
The stadium was charged with electrifying fans after the equaliser as Ghana hoped to claim the lead.
But, it was the Malians who won the match after goalkeeper Mantey made a calamitous blunder by spilling a corner kick which was not dealt with by the forest of Ghanaian legs in the box.
The Black Queens need to pray for Cameroon to get a straight win against Algeria so they could battle the Lioness for a six point and more goals.
Source : Starr Sports
