By Almost 24 hours following Ghana’s victory over Nigeria in the Africa Games’ U-20 women’s football final, the hosts emerged triumphant once more in a tense encounter during the hockey final.
The Ghana women’s hockey team, known as the Black Sticks, clinched Ghana’s 12th gold medal at the 2023 African Games by defeating Nigeria in a penalty shootout during the final held at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Pitch.
At the onset, Ghana’s team had secured a 1-0 victory over Nigeria on their journey to the final. However, in the finals, the Nigerian team exhibited a strong start, indicating their determination to avenge the prior defeat.
The Nigerian women exerted pressure, yet excellent saves from Ghana’s goalkeeper, Abigail Boye, thwarted their scoring attempts.
Following two quarters of lackluster performance, the Black Sticks began to find their rhythm in the third quarter, creating opportunities and keeping the Nigerians pinned in their own half.
But, the Nigerian goalkeeper Uko Martha made scoring difficult for the Ghanaian players as she came up with super saves to prevent the ball from entering her net.
After four quarters of huffing and puffing, the game had to be decided on penalties.
Goalkeeper Abigail Boye came to the rescue as her four penalty saves helped Ghana beat Nigeria 4-3 on penalties to win gold.
