Daily Independent (Lagos)
George Akpayen
9 December 2008
The final of the Ibori U-20 final organised by the West African football Union (WAFU) comes up Wednesday, with Ghana playing Senegal at the Oghara Township Stadium in Oghara, Delta State.
Ghana remains favourite to win the trophy of the maiden edition of the tournament, having remained unbeaten in the tournament.
Before Ghana reached the final, it defeated Senegal 2-0 in the preliminaries, before handing Guinea a 2-1 defeat.
In its group phase match, it defeated Gambia 1-0 to qualify for the quarter-final with maximum points.
Another lone goal victory over Benin Republic in the quarter-final ensured that Ghana booked its place in the semi-final before defeating Burkina Faso 2-1 in the semis.
However, Senegal began the tournament losing 0-2 to Ghana and its head coach, Mayacine Mar, attributed the loss to fatigue after his team had to travel two days from Dakar to Ogwashi-Uku.
But the Senegalese bounced back to beat Gambia by 2-0 and played a goalless draw against Guinea in its last preliminary stage game to secure a date with one of the competitions favourites, Nigeria's Flying Eagles, in the quarter-final.
The Young Teranga Lions, however, shocked its Nigerian counterpart by reaching the semis despite the odds being stacked against it winning on 4-3 via penalties after playing 1-1 in 120 minutes.
The elimination of Nigeria was the stimulant that Senegal needed, as it effortlessly brushed aside Cote d'Ivoire by 4-1 in the semi-final to earn a rematch with Ghana in the final.
In Wednesday's final, Ghana would be banking on the pace and skill of strike duo of captain Dominic Adiyiah and Latiff Salifu, while Senegal's playmaker, Cheikh Oumar Niang, would be pulling the strings in the midfield for striker Oumar Wade.
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