Afriyie Barnieh scored twice to give the Black Meteors a vital 2-1 win over Mozambique in the first leg of the TotalEnergies CAF U-23 qualifying match on Sunday.

The Hearts of Oak forward scored in the 61st and 76th minutes before the hosts capitalized on an 88th minute error to pull one back.

Ghana were off to a solid start as the Meteors dictating play and enjoyed lots of possession. But our hosts however kept it compact in defense and managed to keep the Ghanaian forwards at bay.

The teams went into the break without a goal as a chunk of the action took place in midfield with few chances created. 

Ghana however came into the second half stronger and were rewarded with  a penalty kick in the 61st minute which was well coveted by Barnieh to make it 1-0 for the Meteors.

Fifteen minutes after the opener, Afriyie Barnieh won another penalty for the Black Meteors after he was brought down in the box following an impressive run deep inside the opponents area.

Barnieh converted again to take the scores to 2-0 in favor of Ghana. The home side however pulled one back after the Ghanaian defense failed to clear a rebound.

The win puts Ghana on a strong footing ahead of the return leg which will be played at the Baba Yara Stadium on Sunday, October 30,2022.

A win for Ghana in the return encounter will take Ghana into the final round of the qualifiers where the Black Meteors will face either Ethiopia or Algeria.

The team is expected to arrive in Accra on Tuesday and commence camping in Kumasi from Wednesday, October 25, 2022. 

GFA COMMUNICATIONS