Ghana Under-23 captain Samuel Inkoom believes his side’s win over Nigeria will atone for the salary cut he agreed in order to play in Sunday’s All Africa Games qualifier.

His Ukrainian side FC Dnipro side were reluctant to release him but the right-back gave up half of his monthly salary to rejoin his international team mates.

Inkoom led a second-string Black Meteors team to secure qualification to the All Africa Games finals with a 2-0 win over Nigeria’s Dream Team V.

Both teams tied on a 3-3 aggregate after the two legs but Ghana progress on the away goal rule after losing the first leg 3-1 in Benin City a fortnight ago.

And the captain who played an integral part in Sunday’s win says he couldn’t have been more prouder to have achieved this feat.

“I will firstly thank God and the players for playing their hearts out and making sure we qualified for the All African Games,” he told GHANAsoccernet.com after the game.

“It is not easy for someone to sacrifice his salary but I want to prove to people that I love my country and thankfully we got the much needed win.”

The 21-year-old however recognizes that qualification alone is just not enough and added the team needs to brace themselves for the ultimate at the finals.

“With the quality and talented players available we need to stay focused and be mentally strong to ensure that we make Ghanaians happy by winning the ultimate in the tournament,” he added.