The Starlets of Ghana on Tuesday crashed out of the ongoing WAFU U-17 Cup of Nations after a painful 3-1 loss to Cote D’Ivoire at the Stad de Kugue in Togo.
Ghana needed just a point to advance to the semi-finals of the competition but the performance was met by profligacy in front of goal and some controversial referee decisions.
Togolese referee Vincentia Enyonam Amedome waved play on, on two occasions much to the dismay of the technical bench following glaring obstructions on captain Abdul Fatawu Issahaku and Samuel Boakye in the Ivorian penalty area.
The Ivorians opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Moses Junior Razak Fofana. He latched on to a loose ball in the Ghanaian defence to score the opener.
In the second half, Charles Likpa scored the second goal for the Ivorians but Ghana replied two minutes later through John Batigi.
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Batigi connected from captain Fatawu’s cross with an easy tap in. The goal brought Ghana back into the game but that was dealt a blow four minutes later after Cederick Emmanuel Don scored the third goal from the spot for Cote D’Ivoire.
The win sends Cote D’Ivoire through to the semi-finals of the tournament with six points. Nigeria also qualified with one point. Ghana bowed out of the tournament after picking one point from two matches.