Ghana’s Black Galaxies recorded a deserving victory over their Nigerian counterparts in the first leg of the 2023 CHAN qualifiers on Sunday.
The home-based Ghana national team gained an advantage in the tie by beating the Super Eagles 2-0 at the Cape Coast stadium.
Hearts of Oak duo Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Seidu Suraj scored in the second half to ensure Ghana get a resounding win.
The first half of the match was keenly contested with both teams having very few scoring opportunities as it ended barren at halftime whistle.
It was Ghana who had the first attempt on goal but Jonah Attuquaye failed to connect a cross from Augustine Randolph after a beautiful surging run on the right flank in the 4th minute.
Nigeria had their share of the attempts in the 22nd minute after Adamu Abubakar’s header went wide from a corner-kick.
Substitute David Abagna Sandan with his first touch in the game nearly got the breakthrough for the Black Galaxies but his header went a whisker over the bar.
Ghana finally broke the deadlock of the game just a minute after the break after Afriyie Barnieh converted a spot kick to give his side the lead.
A Super Eagles defender handled the ball inside the box leading to the penalty.
Abagna came close with the second goal in the 56th minute but his curled shot from the edge of the box went few metres wide off the posts.
Hearts midfielder Seidu Suraj put the icing on the cake as he doubled the advantage for Annor Walker’s side four minutes from full-time.
The second leg of this tie comes off next Saturday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
