Ghana’s Black Maidens were crowned the champions of the inaugural WAFU B U17 Girls’ Cup after defeating Nigeria’s Flamingos in the finals at Prampram via a 5-4 penalty shootout win.
Head coach of the Flamingos, Bankole Olowookere named Christiana Uzoma in goal while Taiwo Adegoke, Rokibat Azeez, Hannah Ayomide, and Jumai Adebayo started in defense. Shakirat Moshood and Faridat Abdulwahab were deployed in midfield and Mary Nkpa, Precious Oscar, Harmony Chidi and Janet Akekoromowei started in attack.
The Black Maidens drew the first blood as Getrude Amoafo stroke a beautiful volley into the top corner in the 14th minute of the game. They doubled their lead five minutes later as Amoafo danced through the defense of the Flamingos before feeding the ball to Priscilla Mensah who fired the ball in beyond Christiana Uzoma.
Undeterred by the setback, the Flamingos kept pushing as they sought for a goal that could give them hope. They were rewarded in the 34th minute as Precious Oscar pulled one back with a well-hit strike after a string of inch-perfect crosses.
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Peace Effiong thought she had leveled the scoreline after she bundled in a corner kick into the back of the net. However, the goal was ruled out as the referee decided that the goalkeeper was impeded.
Harmony Chidi missed a glorious chance to level the scoreline as she failed to convert a one-on-one but few minutes later, she eventually equalized for the Flamingos in the 80th minute with a wonder goal from outside the box.
The thrilling encounter ended 2-2 after 90 minutes and went straight into penalty shootout to decide a winner for the inaugural WAFU B U17 Girls’ Cup.
Shakirat Moshood, Peace Effiong, Janet Akekoromowei, and Mary Nkpa all scored their penalties, however, the lone miss by Khadija Taiwo was enough for Ghana’s Black Maidens to clinch the inaugural title after scoring all five of theirs.
Meanwhile, Benin, who lost to the Flamingos in the semifinals, defeated Ivory Coast in the third-place match to clinch the bronze medal prior to the final.
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