Africa U-21 Championships: Ghana Girls Record First Win

Ghana's female junior hockey team, the Black Sticks ladies, bounced back and clinched a decisive lone goal win over Zimbabwe on Tuesday but wasted countless opportunities to stretch the southern African country by a wide margin.

It was the Ghanaians first win in four matches which puts them in a good position to play for medal if they win against Kenya on Thursday .

Midfielder, Faustina Aggrey, fetched the lone goal with two minutes to end the first half. Two clear opportunities handed by Fokuo Priscilla and Clement Cynthia from rather avoidable mistakes, nearly cost the Ghanaians but Mawembwa Mutsa of Zimbabwe failed to connect even from a penalty stroke in the dying minutes of the match. Should Zimbabwe have scored, it could have shattered the dreams of the Ghanaians who are hoping to make their maiden appearance at the junior World Cup to be co-hosted by Malaysia and Singapore next year. The Black Sticks ladies were in control from the start of the match but lacked the finishing power. It took several shouts by their male team who were in the stands to give them support to inspire them to score. Despite that, they lost focus on most occasions and were indecisive when it got to the crunch. They need a win against Kenya, who they share the same points with, to play for either silver or bronze on Saturday. South Africa who thrashed Kenya 8-0 have already qualified with a maximum 12 points while Nigeria and Egypt are second with five points apiece.

In the boys' competition, South Africa asserted their dominance in Africa with an emphatic 4-2 win over host Egypt in the top-liner. Ghana moved closer to the final with a 16-0 win over brave Sudan, Kenya did not spare Libya hammering the poor lads 22-0. The competition resumes on Thursday after a break on Wednesday.