Ghana made a difficult start to their Group C campaign at the Arena Sosnowiec on Sunday, conceding twice in the opening 17 minutes before Ecuador added a third goal in the second half.
Sampson was particularly disappointed with the manner in which Ghana conceded the first two goals, saying the early setback disrupted his team's balance and gave Ecuador control of the match.
“The way we conceded the opening two goals was cheap. It created an imbalance and allowed Ecuador to have the upper hand.”
Ecuador took the lead through Rosa Flores, who produced a spectacular long-range effort, before Domenica Arboleda doubled their advantage in the 17th minute. Arboleda later completed her brace to make it 3-0 and seal victory for Ecuador.
Ghana had opportunities to get back into the contest, with Agnes Yeboah coming close early on, but the Black Princesses struggled to turn their chances into goals.
Sampson, however, praised the attitude shown by his players after going two goals down and believes a lack of clinical finishing ultimately cost them.
“However, I liked the attitude my girls showed in response to going down. We were unfortunate at times and not clinical enough at other times, and that allowed them to finish the game off with a counter-attack.”
The defeat leaves Ghana without a point after the opening round of Group C, while South Korea and France drew 1-1 in the other group fixture.
The result also puts pressure on the Black Princesses to pick up points from their remaining matches if they are to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
Ghana have never progressed beyond the group stage of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, and Sampson had previously identified breaking that barrier as the team's main objective at this year's tournament.
The Black Princesses will have an immediate opportunity to respond when they face South Korea on Wednesday, September 9, before concluding their Group C campaign against France on September 12.
Sampson insists his team must now put the defeat behind them and improve ahead of the crucial encounter.
“We have to accept the result and come back stronger in our next game.”
With two group matches remaining, Ghana will need a significant improvement against South Korea to keep their hopes of making history in Poland alive.
