Ghana’s heroic goalkeeper, Abigail Boye, was shell-shocked and too excited to talk after helping her team silence Nigeria in the 13th African Games women’s hockey final.
Boye stopped four of Nigeria’s efforts in the penalties shootout that followed a pulsating stalemate at Theodosia Okoh Hockey Pitch and her side won 4-3 on the evening in Accra.
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While Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Martha Ukoh had also put up a sterling performance in the rematch of an earlier game won 1-0 by Ghana at the same venue, it was Boye who had the last laugh when it mattered most.
Her remarkable saves ensured that Ghana won their 12th gold medal of the Games they are hosting in their capital, Accra, but the day’s heroine could hardly find the right words to express her emotions afterwards.
“I’m overwhelmed, I don’t know what to say,” Boye confessed in a post-match interview with Sports 247. “It’s my players who made it, not me. I dedicate the victory to our coach. He’s a very good coach.”
On her part, Black Sticks’ captain, Adizatu Sulemana, praised Nigeria for giving her side another tough battle and thanked God for giving the hosts a long-awaited victory.
Sulemana submitted: “It means a lot to us. We’ve been waiting for this day. All our medals have been silver. Every time we host a competition, it will be second position for us.
“This time, with God being on our side and our dedication and focus, we’ve been able to get gold for our country. We are happy for this gold.
“We played with them earlier. It was also a tough game and well-fought. We were focused. That helped us get to this level and our dedication. We were able to go for it.
“They always give us a tough time. We are not surprised that it happened this way.”
It was another evening of satisfaction for Ghana, barely 24 hours after their youth team silenced Nigeria’s Falconets 2-1 in the female football final.
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