Defending champions Eastern Region bounced back from their opening-day setback to secure a vital 1-0 victory over Western Region in their second Group A fixture of the 2026 MTN Elite U-19 Championship on Wednesday, August 26.
Ransford Siaw emerged as the match-winner, scoring the decisive goal in the eighth minute to give Eastern Region their first victory of the campaign at the GFA Technical Centre.
Siaw's early strike proved enough to separate the two sides in a tightly contested encounter, as Eastern Region held on to protect their slender advantage and collect three valuable points in their bid to defend the title.
The result keeps Eastern Region firmly in the hunt as the group stage develops, while Western Region will now look to regroup and strengthen their position in their remaining fixtures.
In the other Group A encounter, Upper West Region continued their impressive start to the Championship with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Volta Region, strengthening their position at the top of the group.
Collins Yamba opened the scoring for Upper West in the 32nd minute, giving his side a deserved advantage. Volta Region responded after the break, with Apetor Paris finding the equaliser to bring the contest level and briefly raise hopes of a comeback.
Upper West, however, regained the lead through Abdulai Bashit, whose decisive strike secured a valuable 2-1 victory for his side. The goal took Bashit’s tournament tally to four, following his impressive hat-trick in Upper West’s opening-match victory over defending champions Eastern Region.
The result gives Upper West a firm grip on Group A, with six points from two matches. Their campaign began with an impressive 3-2 victory over defending champions Eastern Region before they followed it up with another crucial win against Volta Region.
The MTN Elite U-19 Championship continues to provide an important platform for some of Ghana's brightest young footballers to develop their technical and tactical abilities while gaining valuable competitive experience.
GFA Communications