WAFU Cup: Ghana to face Nigeria in final

The Black Stars of Ghana will face off with the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the grand finale of the 2017 WAFU Cup after beating Niger 2-0 in the semi-final played this evening (Thursday, September 21, 2017).

Two goals from Ghana’s striking pair of Kwame Kizito and Stephen Sarfo ensured that the Stars will have another chance to avenge their 2-0 defeat at the hands of Nigeria.

The finale will come off at the Cape Coast stadium on Sunday, September 24.

In what was a frantic and physical battle, Niger came off the blocks from the blast of the whistle and asked a lot of questions off the Ghanaian defence.

Niger could and should have taken the lead in the opening stages of the game but profligacy on the part of their strikers meant all the decent chances they had went begging with their lead striker Adebayor the most guilty of all.

As the Niger side wasted their chances, the Black Stars grew into the game and found their rhythm.

Kwame Kizito fired Ghana into the lead when he out-jumped everyone to connect a fine corner kick from Amos Frimpong in the 31st minute of the game. The Stars held onto that lead until the half time whistle.

In the second half, Niger attempted to rescue the game and threw more bodies forward which exposed their rearguard badly.

In the 79th minute, Ghana put the icing on the cake when Stephen Sarfo pounced on a fine pass from Emmanuel Lomotey to literally seal Ghana’s place in the final on Sunday.

The Black Stars will face Nigeria who themselves beat Benin 1-0 in the first semi-final gae played on Thursday.

Kano Pillars star Rabiu Ali was the hero as he netted the only goal of the game in the 11th minute to hand his side a spot in Sunday’s final.

Speaking to the press after the game, Ghana coach Maxwell Konadu said his aim is to win the trophy and is not thinking about revenge against Nigeria.

“We went back to do our homework after the game against Nigeria. We worked on set pieces which I felt was our major problem and as you can see we were better today. The game against Nigeria is not going to be a matter of revenge, for us we are only interested in winning and retaining the WAFU trophy,” he said.