The Black Galaxies of Ghana defeated Benin by 3-0 in the first leg of the 2023 CHAN tournament scheduled to be staged in Algeria.
Hearts of Oak striker Daniel Afriyie Barnieh scored the first goal in the 25th minute via a penalty.
A cross from Asante Kotoko’s Imoro Ibrahim found Hearts of Oak’s Mohammed Alhassan to head home the second goal in the game.
Captain Gladson Awako later sealed it with a brilliant goal from the box to the surprise of Benin’s goalkeeper.
Following their 3-0 loss to Ghana, Benin will have to beat Ghana by a four-goal margin to secure qualification to the next round.
Ghana is keen on succeeding in the qualifiers to secure a ticket to play at the upcoming tournament.
The Black Galaxies made a historic final appearance at the first edition in Cote D’Ivoire 2009 following a 2-0 defeat to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Ghana crashed out of the 2011 tournament in Sudan after going three matches without a win at the Group stage with the team’s last appearance coming in 2014 when the Black Galaxies lost 4-3 to Libya on penalties after a nerve-wracking goalless draw in regulation time.
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