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Accra Hearts of Oak striker Afriyie Barnieh scored twice from the spot to give the Black Meteors a vital 2-1 win over Mozambique in the first leg of the TotalEnergies CAF U23 qualifying match.
The Hearts of Oak forward scored on the 61st and 76th minute before the hosts capitalized on an 88th minute to pull one back.
The game got off with a solid start with the Black Meteors dictating play and enjoying lots of possession.
Our hosts however kept it compact in defense and managed to keep the Ghanaian forwards at bay.
The game went into recess scoreless as with a interesting midfield battle between the two sides.
Ghana however came into the second half strongly and was rewarded with a penalty kick on the 61st minute which was well coveted by Barnieh.
Another impressive run by Afriyie Barnieh resulted in a second penalty for the Black Meteors.
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 will commence camping in Kumasi from Wednesday.
Watch below highlights of the game:
