The Black Meteors of Ghana suffered a 1-0 defeat to Libya in the first leg of their 2027 CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Benghazi on Wednesday, November 11.
Desmond Ofei’s men made a great start to the game and were the dominant side in the opening minutes. Their glorious opportunity in the game came on the stroke of half-time when Daniel Adu Adjei was put through in a one on one situation but couldn’t make it count.
The visitors were reduced to ten men in the 55th minute after Antwi Dacosta was sent off, leaving the team with a difficult hurdle to climb.
Libya capitalised on their numerical advantage when Jebril Ejfala punished a defensive error from Gideon Aseako, firing a powerful effort past the Ghana goalkeeper to score the only goal of the encounter.
The Black Meteors were unable to find an equaliser as Libya held on to secure a narrow advantage ahead of the return fixture.
Ghana will host the second leg on Tuesday, November 17, at the Ohene Gyan Stadium, where they must respond to keep their qualification hopes alive.
The Black Meteors need to win by at least two unanswered goals to overturn the deficit and advance to the next round of the qualifying campaign, which also offers a pathway to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
