In the African Cup of Nations final in 1978, the late Opoku Afriyie scored a brace to hand the Black Stars of Ghana its 3rd trophy.
After a difficult opening 30 minutes of the game, the match between Ghana and The Cranes of Uganda looked set to end in a goalless first half but Opoku Afriyie produced a moment of magic to hand the West African giants the lead.
The prolific goal poacher caught a loose ball right in the air and hit a volley to break the deadlock against a resilient Ugandan side.
Opoku Afriyie produced yet another brilliant goal to send the Accra Sports Stadium into ecstatic cheers and jeers in the 68th minute of the game.
The striker caught a through pass with his head which he nodded down, run with the ball a few seconds before hitting a half volley with his right foot beyond the on-rushing Ugandan goalkeeper.
His brace won Ghana’s third AFCON trophy after The Black Stars had won the 1963 and 1965 editions.
He also scored the Black Stars’ first goal of the African Cup of Nations in 1978 as Ghana narrowly edged past Zambia in 2-1 win.
The Asante Kotoko hitman ended the tournament with the golden boot award with three goals, tied with Segun Odegbami of Nigeria and Phillip Omondi of Uganda.
Afriyie, also known as Bayie later went on to win two-goal king awards in the Ghana Premier League in 1979 and 1981 and helped Kumasi Asante Kotoko win domestic laurels.
Watch his flawless brace here:
Watch the ecstatic scene at the Accra Stadium when Opoku Afriyie scored two goals to win the 1978 AFCON for Ghana in a 2-0 win against Uganda.
He was nicknamed Nii Opoku Afriyie when he joined Hearts of Oak from Kotoko.
Opoku Afriyie passed away today in Kumas. RIP pic.twitter.com/cCeeJbeanO— Ghana Sports Facts (@FreemanYeboa) March 29, 2020
