The Black Satellites of Ghana were held to a 1-1 draw by Niger in the opening fixtures of the 2023 WAFU B U-20 Cup of Nations on Monday evening.
Niger scored a late leveller to deny the male national U20 team of Ghana to a victory at the ongoing tournament in Ivory Coast.
Coach Samuel Boadu's side commenced the fixture on a good note with an intense pressure on the back line of Niger by opening the score before the half-hour mark.
Heart of Lions youngster Mustapha Yakubu snatched the opener for the Black Satellites with a stunning free-kick on the 20th minute of the game.
The Ghana U20 team came close through Shadrack Addo to double their lead before the end of the first half but his effort was brilliantly fisted out by the Nigerien goalkeeper.
In the second half, the Niger took possession with the hopes of levelling the score before the hour mark but the Ghanaian team looked resolute to deny them from scoring.
Niger got their breakthrough with a 95th minute equalizer to end the match in a one-all draw at the Stade Champroux in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire.
Earlier today, Burkina Faso inflicted a 1-0 defeat on host nation, Ivory Coast, courtesy a strike from Zakaria Tinta which sends the Burkinabes on top of Group B.
Ghana will face Burkina Faso in their second Group A game on Monday, July 10 before they square off with Ivory Coast on July 13.
