Nigeria's Flying Eagles clinched the top of Group B of the African Youth Championship after defeating defending champions Ghana 2-1 at the Dobsonville Stadium in Soweto, south of Johannesburg.

It took Innocent Nwofor Uche 17 minutes to break the deadlock and give Nigeria the lead, but Boakye Richmond scored the equaliser for the Ghanaian Black Satellites in the 31st minute.

Uche doubled his tally and made it 2-1 for the five-time winners in the 81st minute, registering their first ever win over the Ghanaians in the tournament.

Nigeria’s team hopes to extend their lead when they take on Cameroon next Thursday while Ghana will be in a must-win situation as they face Gambia and later Cameroon if they hope to ensure their semi-final qualifitcaion.