Kumasi, Nov 21, GNA - Ghana Under-17 team, the Black Starlets beat their Tunisian counterparts 3-1 in the first leg African Under-17 championship qualifier match played at the Kumasi Sports Stadium on Sunday.

The Black Starlets scored their first goal in the 24th minute when Abubakar Awudu finished off a free kick from skipper Emmanuel Ansong.

Playing with confidence combined with exceptional skills they pinned their counterparts to their own half and nearly scored the second goal in the 26th minute but Peter Essien shot wide after a rebound from James Tagoe's shot that hit the cross bar.

The Tunisians who could not withstand the pressure from the Ghanaians, resorted to delay tactics and hard tackling and as a result Bensalah Mahmoud was shown the yellow card for indecent offence in the 30th minute.

The Starlets continued with their onslaught and scored the second goal in the 40th minute through James Tagoe who connected a cross from Opoku Agyemang.

The Tunisians came back strongly in the second half after a slight downpour and raided the Starlets goal area with Oauhada Marouane missing a chance in the 60th minute.

They however they succeeded in reducing the tally in the 63rd minute through Mouhelhi Anine.

With the game almost coming to an end, the Starlets scored their third goal in the injury time through Osei Banahene to raise the hopes of the home team of qualifying.