Black Queens Coach Speaks Following Opening AWCON Defeat

The Black Queens of Ghana were defeated 2-0 by the Bayana Bayana of South Africa in their opening African Women’s Championship game on Monday, July 7, 2025.

Linda Motlhalo opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 28th minute before Jermaine Seoposenwe doubled the lead six minutes later to doom the Black Queens at the Honneur Stadium in Oujda, Morocco.

The Queens attempted to stage a comeback but their best effort struck the woodwork in the 60th minute, while goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan was forced to make some impressive saves to keep the scoreline respectable.

Ghana now lies at the bottom of Group C with zero points and needs to secure victories in their remaining two games to qualify to the next round.

Despite the defeat, Black Queens’ coach Kim Lars Bjorkegren expressed optimism about the performance.

“I’m really happy with the first hour of the game until the penalty came,” he said.

“They scored from the penalty, it came from nowhere. After that, we gave them the opportunity to score another one, and that was the problem. When we lose concentration, we give the ball away too much. But otherwise, I think the performance was good.”

The Black Queens continue their campaign on Friday, when they take on Mali.

Their group stage campaign ends on Monday, July 14, with a must-win game against Tanzania.

Source: Liberalprint.com