Fantastic Starlets sail through to quarter-finals

Gwangyang, (SK), Aug. 29, GNA - Ghana's Black Starlets with a man down from the 43rd minute of the first half, proved their supremacy over Brazil in the U-17 World Cup in South Korea when they pipped them by a lone goal to send the South Americans packing.

The victory goes to prove that Ghana is indeed the 'Brazil' of Africa in soccer, particularly at the youth level and thus put them in pool position to lift the cup for the third time to equal Brazil's record of three cup wins.

"Congratulations", "Fantastic Ghana", "Well Done" and "We are proud of you" were some of the messages of encouragement from the lips of many of the Korean fans who thronged the Gwangyang soccer stadium to support the Africans unto victory.

The match was rightly termed, 'the final of finals', considering the pedigree of the two countries at the juvenile soccer level and if history would truly repeat itself, the Cup would surely come to Ghana since any time the two meet, the winner becomes the eventual champion. It was disaster for Ghana in the 43rd minute when Francis Boadi was shown the exit after receiving a second yellow card in the dying minutes of the first half.

The Starlets however never lost concentration but continued to hold onto the ball with their usual missed scoring chances being their bane until referee Grzegorz Gilewski from Poland brought the first half to an end.

Back from recess, the "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Stars" played as if they had equal numerical strength and it came as no surprise when in the 51st minute the Brazilian goalie failed to make a first time firm grabs of Isaac Donkoh's shot before it crossed the goal line, for the assistant referee to quickly confirm it as a "Clean goal" and to send the entire stadium into wild jubilation.

Much as the Brazilians tried to redeem the goal it continued to prove futile as the Starlets managed to hold them in check and to maintain with the same rhythm to put breaks over the Brazilians last minute onslaught till the end to ensure a deserved victory. Not even six minutes of time added on by the referee, a ploy some soccer analysts said was meant to ensure that Brazil remained in the competition could save the situation for the South Americans. The few Ghanaians who thronged the stadium to support the Starlets sung praises to God for the victory while the players also danced to the tunes waving Ghanaian flags for a deserved hard won victory.

The Starlets would next meet Peru who also beat Tajilkistan 5-4 on penalties to reach the quarter-finals. The match would come off on Saturday to decide who plays in last eight, while the other remaining African team, Nigeria would lock horns with Colombia on Thursday at the same venue.