Ghana Under-20 women’s coach Charles Sampson says the Black Princesses’ 3-0 defeat by Ecuador in their opening FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup match was an “unexpected” result, blaming costly early defensive errors for putting his side on the back foot.

The Black Princesses now face an uphill task to reach the knockout stage after beginning their Group C campaign with defeat.

Sampson admitted his side’s poor start proved decisive, with Ecuador capitalising on defensive lapses to seize control of the contest.

“This was a little bit unexpected. The way we started the game, the way we conceded those two goals, they were a bit cheap, if you could ask me,” he said after the match.

The Ghana coach said conceding twice early on shifted the momentum in Ecuador’s favour and disrupted his team’s rhythm.

“That also definitely gave Ecuador more strength and got us a little bit out of balance.”

Despite the disappointing result, Sampson praised his players for their response after falling behind, although he acknowledged they lacked the cutting edge needed to get back into the game.

“I like the attitude that the girls showed. We were unfortunate and not clinical enough in the last third. We should have been able to score some goals and come into the game.”

As Ghana pushed to reduce the deficit, Sampson said his side became increasingly vulnerable, allowing Ecuador to seal victory with another counter-attacking goal.

“The more the game goes on, and it’s 2-0, and then you don’t reduce it, you become vulnerable. Then they went on a counterattack again and got us. That’s unfortunate, but I like the character that we showed.”

The coach urged his players to quickly move on from the defeat and focus on improving ahead of their remaining group fixtures.

“Today we are a bit down, and it’s normal. Tomorrow we will look at the game, see the things we can do better and put our energy into the last two games.

“We still have two games, so that gives us a chance to recover and put ourselves back into the competition.”

The Black Princesses now turn their attention to crucial Group C matches against South Korea and France as they seek to keep alive hopes of reaching the knockout stage for the first time in their history.