Ghana’s Black Queens took a giant step towards qualification for the next round of the 2014 African Women’s Championship (AWC) qualifiers courtesy a 3-0 win over Burkina Faso on Sunday night in Ouagadougou.
The Black Queens, three-time losing finalists at the continental championship made their experience count against their northern neighbours in the first leg clash of the first round.
The Ghanaians dominated from the onset as the Burkinabes found it tough to pull their passes together. Three minutes into the game, the Ghanaians were up after hard-pressed defender Edith Bambara inadvertently diverted a shot into her own net.
Six minutes later, Agnes Aduako doubled the lead firing past Burkinabe goalie Ami Sanou in a one-on-one situation to confirm their dominance. On 19 minutes, burly forward Faiza Ibrahim meandered her way through the homers defence before slotting past goalie Sanou.
It was Ghana all the way but the Burkinabes fought on, ensuring that there were no further balls picked at the back of their net.
In Kigali, Rwanda beat Kenya 1-0 with striker Alice Niyoyita’s 29th minute goal separating the two sides.
Elsewhere in Cairo, Tunisia boosted their chances of reaching the next round with a 3-0 win over Egypt at the latter’s backyard.
After a balanced opening minute, the visitors went up on 23 minutes through captain Hidouri Zina, to give her side a first half lead.
Three minutes from recess, Gonri Dhekra increased the tally before Maknoun Leila sealed victory with the third goal two minutes later.
The Egyptians fought on but their hopes were dented after Nesma Fikhri was sent off in the closing stages, hampering their quest for even a consolation.
In a post-match interview, Tunisia coach, Landolsi Samir said the game is far from over despite the 3-0 win.
“We are not finished yet. The three goals are important and we will finish it off in the return leg. We had a difficult start but recovered after 20 minutes. The first goal gingered us and we improved.
“The second goal came at a very important moment and finally the third one. The victory was good for us.”
His Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah Abbas said “Unfortunately, my players had an off- day on the field today and just didn’t play well but that is football.
“Tunisia played well and deserved their win. This contest is not over yet. We can possibly win 4-0 in Tunisia. We have to go there believing we can play better than we did today.”
On Saturday, Cote d’Ivoire overpowered Mali 4-0 in Abidjan to boost their chances.
Jeanne Gnago opened the scores after four minutes from the spot before Estelle Nahi cemented the lead on 41 minutes. The Ivorians scored the third through Ines Tia Nrehi on 81 minutes before Rebecca Elloh signed off the win four minutes later with the fourth goal.
Elsewhere, southerners Zambia and Zimbabwe launched also their campaigns with narrow wins on Friday (February 14).
The She-polopolo of Zambia beat Tanzania 2-1 in Lusaka whilst the Mighty Warriors of Zimbabwe stunned their Botswana hosts 1-0 in Gaboroone.
The Zambians, seeking for their first ever appearance at a major women’s championship, gave their fans a huge cause to smile with victory against the highly rated Twiga Stars.
After failing to hit the back of the net in the opening minutes, the host finally managed to put their noses in front through Hellen Mubanga on 77 minutes, tapping in from close range after Tanzania goalie Fatuma Oman had spilled a shot unto her path.
Two minutes on, an own-goal by hard-pressed defender Sophia Mwasikili extended the lead of the Zambians, before Donasia Daniel handed the visitors a lifeline with a consolation in stoppage time.
In Gaborone, Violet Bepete scored the only goal to hand Zimbabwe victory at the expense of their hosts.
Algeria silenced Morocco 2-0 in an-all Maghrebian affair. Striker Naima Bouhani-Benziane scored in each half, 12 and 56 minutes to power the Algerians to a comfortable win in Algiers.
The second leg matches will take place on the weekend of 28 February to 2 March, 2014 with the winners progressing to the second round to join African champions, Equatorial Guinea, South Africa and Cameroon, who drew a bye at the first round.
Seven teams will emerge from the qualifiers to join hosts Namibia for the final tournament from 11-24 October, also a qualifier for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada next year.
Results
14/2/2014 Algeria 2-0 Morocco
14/2/2014 Zambia 2-1 Tanzania
14/2/2014 Botswana 0-1 Zimbabwe
15/2/2014 Cote d’Ivoire 4-0 Mali
16/2/2014 Burkina Faso 0-3 Ghana
16/2/2014 Egypt 0-3 Tunisia
16/2/2014 Rwanda 1-0 Kenya
*Guinea Bissau vs Senegal
Nigeria vs Sierra Leone*
Ethiopia vs South Sudan*
*Mozambique vs Comoros
*Withdrew
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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