Black Queens taste defeat in Morocco friendly

Ghana’s Black Queens suffered a 0-2 defeat to the Atlas Lionesses of Morocco in a friendly match in Rabat on Tuesday night.

Tottenham Hotspurs forward Rosella Ayane struck past Ghana goalie Fafali Dumehasi with two second half goals in the 48th and 78th minutes to secure victory at the Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex.

Ghana’s Suzzy Dede Teye, who plays for Lady Strikers, had two glorious scoring chances in the 4th and 80th minutes but shot wide. Martha Appiah impressed in the left-back role but was pulled out in the 57th minute for Ellen Coleman, who did not live up to expectation.

Queens Coach Mercy Tagoe Quarcoo made two other substitutions in the second half, introducing Grace Animah and Veronica Appiah for Philomena Abakah and Vivian Konadu Adjei respectively.

The triumph was a second successive win recorded by Morocco as they continue preparations to host the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in July.

On April 8, the Atlas Lionesses thumped Gambia 6-1 in their first of two scheduled friendly matches.

This test match was the Queens first since October 2021, when they were eliminated from the 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations qualifiers by Nigeria.

According to Black Queens Coach Mercy Tagoe Quarcoo, Ghana is using this international friendly to prepare for the 2023 African Games to be hosted in Accra.

The Queens have been holding training sessions in Rabat after departing on Sunday with a 21-man squad.