Two-time champs overcome stiff resistance from debutants to register 2-0 win and enter quarters
At the half-time whistle, Niger goalkeeper Khaled Lawali picked up the towel kept next to the goal post, covered his face with it for a few seconds even as he started walking towards his dugout.
Till the final minute to half-time, the debutants had managed to keep the mighty Ghana at bay. But a moment of madness broke the deadlock, and Niger’s spirit as they went down 2-0 to the two-time champions in the FIFA U-17 World Cup Round of 16 clash at the DY Patil Stadium here on Wednesday.
A rough tackle by Niger defender Farouk Idrissa on Ghana captain Eric Ayiah inside the box gave Black Starlets a penalty. And Ayiah wasn’t the one to miss out on the gift, calmly placing the ball to the bottom right corner of the net off his right foot.
That was just the fillip Ghana needed going into the break, and just the dampener the Niger boys didn’t.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup first-timers put up a spirited defence for 45 minutes in the second half too, but a brilliant goal by substitute Richard Danso in the 90th minute ensured that Ghana advance to the quarterfinals, where they will take on Mali in Guwahati on Saturday.
Danso, who was given some free space by the Niger defenders, took a couple steps inside the box and fired a right-footed thunderbolt. Such was the pace and precision of the shot that the Niger goalie could only manage to get fingertips on the ball as it flew past him to the top right of the goal.
It was a goal Ghana needed, for it sealed their place safely into the next round. But before that, Niger resisted almost everything that was thrown at them. Ghana had as many as 23 shots at the goal, with seven of them on target. Niger, on the other hand, had four shots, none of them being on target.
That stat alone reflected the nature of the game, one that Ghana dominated and Niger dodged as much as they could. In the end, it needed a lapse on the part of an opposition defender and a piece of individual brilliance to see Ghana through.
Going ahead, the Black Starlets know that might not be enough, especially against last edition’s runners-up Mali.
“It is a concern,” Ghana coach Samuel Fabin said after the game. “We created a lot of chances, which we couldn’t convert. We need to keep correcting these mistakes.”
For Niger, this was anyway a case of punching above their weight, making it to the knockouts in their first-ever FIFA U-17 World Cup outing.
“For us it is a historic qualification,” Niger coach Ismaila Tiemoko said after the game.
“Already, we are ranked 15 out of the 24 teams that are playing in the World Cup. And now, we are expecting better. But already, we have accomplished a lot big things in the tournament,” he added.
QUARTERFINAL LINE-UP
October 21
Mali vs Ghana, Guwahati (5pm)
USA vs England, Goa (8pm)
October 22
Spain vs Iran, Kochi (5pm)
Germany vs Brazil, Kolkata (8pm)
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