Black Queens win Gold

Ghana’s Black Queens yesterday exacted a sweet revenge against the Indomitable Lionesses of Cameroun when they beat them 1-0 to win gold in the final of the All Africa Games women soccer competition played at the Massamba Debat Stadium in Brazzaville.

The historic feat came against the backdrop of the Lionesses denying the Queens qualification to the Olympics in Rio next year.

After four draws, winger Portia Boakye’s 86th minute volley outside the box after striker Agnes Aduaku missed a spot-kick, deflected off two defenders to become the game-changer in the marathon between the two sides.

The highly charged match saw the Lionesses dominate the entire 90 minutes of play but their reliance on floating balls and long passes, interspersed with missed scoring opportunities, became their nemesis.

The match started with the Queens on the back-foot while their opponents made early incursions into the area for the opener but defenders Janet Egyir and Linda Eshun stood tall in the 17th minute.

The Lionesses nearly fetched the opener when attackers Genevieve Edith and Akaba Edoa beautifully paired with fluid passes in the box but their final effort was wasted.

The Queens struggled to  string passes together and their only chance in the half came in the 40th minute but neither striker Samira Suleman nor Agnes Aduaku could utilise the opportunity.

 After the break, the Lionesses continued their dangerous incursions and came close again to fetching the opener in the 57th and 69th minutes but goalkeeper Patricia Mantey was up to the task for the Queens.

After a few exchanges in the midfield, substitute striker Edem Atorvor received a pass from Juliet Acheampong on the right and as she dashed into the box, she was brought down by defender Bou Cathy for the referee to whistle for a penalty in the 85th minute.

 The resultant kick saw Agnes Aduaku’s feeble effort saved and loosely floated away by the Lionesses only for Portia Boakye to scream out a left-footed cracker to send the tiny Ghanaian crowd into wild jubilation.

The Queens held on till the final whistle to bring Ghana’s medal tally to 19, equalling that of the Maputo Games, after John Ampomah also took silver in the Javelin with a throw of 82.94m