Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets settled for a third-place finish at this year’s WAFU B Under-17 tournament following a 3-2 win over hosts Ghana at the University of Ghana Stadium in Accra on Tuesday.
The Golden Eaglets, led by the experienced Manu Garba, looked revitalised despite their earlier semifinal disappointment.
After nine minutes of action, they took the lead after Imrana Muhammad benefited from a goalmouth melee to put the ball in the back of the net.
Nonetheless, the Black Starlets, galvanised by their home fans, weren’t going to back down easily, and their pressure on the Eaglets’ defence finally paid off in the 19th minute when they got the equaliser through an own goal by a Nigerian defender.
The Ghanaians rallied for the lead, with the three-time world champions going in front in the 27th minute with Harve Gbafa beating Eaglets’ goalkeeper Dominic Chinedu.
The five-time world champions, responded with an equaliser four minutes before the half time break through Abdulmuiz Adeleke, who was the hero in their 3-0 group win over Togo when he bagged a brace.
Adeleke got his third goal in Ghana by nodding the ball past goalkeeper Michael Armah off a pin-point cross from John Ogwuche.
The second half witnessed end-to-end action, and with the game heading for a penalty shootout, Adeleke stepped up once again with the match-winner in the second minute of added time as the youngster got his fourth goal of the competition and sealed a vital victory for Nigeria.
