Ghana U20 succumbed 2-1 to Ethiopia in the 2017 African Youth Championship second qualifying round first leg tie on Sunday.
The Black Satellites suffered a 2-0 first-half setback after Mohammed Ome struck twice in the opening ten minutes of the clash (4th and 9th minutes) for the home side in Addis Ababa.
But Jonathan Osabutey halved the deficit for Mas-Ud Dramani side's late into the second-half.
Ghana, 2009 World champions, went into the clash having enjoyed the advantage of a walkover in the previous qualifying round.
Ghana's line up featured Asante Kotoko's prolific striker Dauda Mohammed, who captained the side, but he failed to get on the score-sheet.