In the ongoing Confederation of African Football Women’s Champions League (CAFWCL), Ampem Darkoa Ladies have succumbed to a sore defeat after losing badly to Malian giants, AS Mande in their second group match.
The Malians advanced to the top of the league’s Group B, punishing the Ghanaian champions despite their defensive play throughout the match.
That was AS Mande’s second encounter against a Ghanaian side in the women’s champions league. In 2021, they faced off against Hasacaas Ladies in their second group game and ended up losing the game by three goals to nil.
Setting the tone for a difficult evening for Ampem Darkoa, Oumou Kone, who had previously shown her character to be a threat to defenses, opened the scoring charts for AS Mande in the 40th minute.
The Techiman-based club, Ampem Darkoa managed to regroup during the second half, but it was in vain as Kone carried on her goal-scoring rampage, netting the second and third goals in the 71st and 72nd minutes, respectively. Kone was therefore named ‘Woman of the Match’ in recognition of her sterling performance in the win after scoring a hatrick.
The Ghanaian champions will be in pole position to make amends and advance to the next round, in case they defeat Equatorial Guinea’s Huracanes in the group stage match.
The Ghanaian team got off to a flying start with a 2-1 victory against defending champions, AS FAR Rabat last Monday, a victory that saw them make a historic comeback to stun the Moroccan side.
The result also saw Malian side AS Mande end their run of four games without a win in the competition since their debut in 2021 while they also kept their first clean sheet in the CAFWCL.
Third placed Ampem Darkoa Ladies will lock horns with Huracanes on Sunday, 12th November at 20:00 GMT in Korhogo while ASFAR Club and AS Mande face off in San Pedro, Ivory Coast.
