2017 WAFU Wrap Up

Day twelve of the 2017 WAFU Cup of Nations saw the Black Stars of Ghana shining bright as they were crowned the tournament champions following a highly impressive performance in the final against Nigeria.

Ghana were at their best after finding the back of the net four times to beat the Super Eagles 4-1 at Cape Coast Sports Stadium on Sunday, September 24 and avenge their 2-0 defeat in the group stages.

The first half of the final was a tightly contested affair with the Black Stars controlling the flow of the play and dominating the possession stakes, but they struggled to penetrate the Nigerian defence.

That was until the injury to Super Eagles defender Olamilekan Adeleye Aniyikaye in the 40th minute which consequently saw him substituted.

After that the Nigerian defence seemed to fall apart and Ghana took the lead just before the break courtesy of a strike from Stephen Sarfo.

In the second half Nigeria had no answer for the attacking flair of the Black Stars, especially when substitute Patrick Razak came on and terrorised their defence with his darting runs down the left flank.

It was those runs from Razak that led to two penalties being conceded which saw Vincent Atingah and Stephen Sarfo scoring from the spot.

Sarfo’s second goal of the night also seeing him crowned the Golden Boot winner of the tournament.

The Black Stars wrapped up an almost perfect night with a fourth goal thanks to a strike from Winnful Cobbinah, followed by a consolation strike from Nigeria’s Rabiu Ali to see the game end 4-1.

The third/fourth place play-off game earlier on Sunday, September 24 at Cape Coast Sports Stadium also produced goals with Niger claiming the bronze medal after beating Benin 2-1.

The final awards ceremony saw Nigeria’s Ikechukwu Ezenwa awarded the Golden Gloves accolade for the best keeper of the tournament despite conceding four in the final.

The Player of the Tournament was none other than Ghanaian midfielder and captain Issac Twum who led his team with aplomb.