Ghana’s Black Stars ‘B’ succumbed to a 2-1 defeat in Friday’s international friendly with Uzbekistan.
The Asians capitalized on defensive mistakes by midfielders Moro Salifu and Michel Otou to score in either half at the Makarziy Stadium in Namangan.
Ghana went down as early as the 4th minute after Salifu cheaply gave away possession and Otabek Shukurov ensured the Uzbeks took the lead.
The hosts continued to exploit the unsettled Ghanaians but could not produce any more goals with the first half ending 1-0.
Teen sensation Abdul Fatawu Issahaku – who won the U-20 Afcon best player earlier this month – scored to level the scores for Ghana with a powerful free-kick from about 25 metres.
However, the excitement was short-lived for coach Ibrahim Tanko’s side just three minutes later, Jaloliddin Masharipov took advantage of yet another Ghana mistake, this time by Michel Otou, to make it 2-1.
The scoreline remained until the blast of the final whistle.
Uzbekistan used the friendly to prepare for their upcoming Asian World Cup qualifying campaign while Ghana are just beginning to build a team for the 2021 Wafu Cup of Nations tournament slated for Nigeria later in the year.
