WÀFCON Warm-Up: Ghana Fall 2–0 To England

WÀFCON Warm-Up: Ghana Fall 2–0 To England

Sampson Adedeji

England’s Lionesses secured a 2–0 win over Ghana in a warm-up match at St Mary’s Stadium, with Lucia Kendall scoring her first international goal and Alessia Russo adding a late penalty, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Kendall, featuring at the home ground of her childhood club Southampton, opened the scoring in the eighth minute after capitalising on a defensive error from Ghana’s Benedicte Simon. The 21-year-old pounced on the misplaced clearance to slot home from close range.

England suffered a setback later in the first half, however, as winger Chloe Kelly was forced off with an injury.

Head coach Sarina Wiegman used the fixture to test new options, handing starts to Kendall, Taylor Hinds, Missy Bo Kearns, and Aggie Beever-Jones.

Despite England’s dominance, they were kept at bay for long spells thanks to the woodwork, several key saves from Ghanaian goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan Findib, and some wasteful finishing.

The Lionesses eventually doubled their lead in second-half stoppage time. Comfort Yeboah was penalised for a handball that stopped a goal-bound header from Russo, who calmly converted the resulting penalty to seal the win.