Asamoah Gyan put the Black Stars ahead with his 50th goal for the senior national team, heading home Thomas Agyapong’s cross in the 10th minute.

John Boye scored the second with a brilliant shot on the turn in the box before Ebenezer Ofori rifled home a beauty from outside the box to put the Stars in total control at the break.

The Black Stars continued where they left off in the second half as highly-rated Raphael Dwamena poked home after Andre Ayew’s shot was saved.

Dwamena got his second of the game and despite a late rally from the Ethiopians, drawing a few good saves from Richard Ofori, the Black Stars never looked like faltering.

The big news before the game was whether Kwesi Appiah, taking charge of his first competitive game since his reappointment would start Gyan upfront given the good recent form of Jordan Ayew.

Gyan was picked to lead the line with Raphael Dwamena while Andre Ayew and Thomas Partey retained their places in the starting line-up.

Richard Ofori was picked ahead of Joseph Addo in goal, behind Appiah’s preferred central defensive partnership of John Boye and Daniel Amartey.

The Stars began the game brightly, dominating possession and restricting the Ethiopians to long punts up the field to relieve the pressure.

However, a goal seemed inevitable, almost as much as the scorer, as skipper Gyan got ahead of his marker to head home, via a massive deflection off an Ethiopian defender.

The Stars doubled their lead almost immediately as centre-back John Boye controlled the ball and fired home brilliantly on the turn.

The Ethiopians had hardly mustered a shot on goal at that point and were left with half chances which the Ghana defence dealt with creditably.

With four minutes until half-time, the game was virtually sealed as a contest as Ebenezer Ofori cut in a fired home to give the Stars a comfortable 3-0 lead at half-time.

After the break, the Black Stars maintained their dominance, with Raphael Dwamena scoring his first competitive goals for the national team.

He poked in on the rebound for his first and profited from some bad defending for his second.

Black Stars XI:

Richard Ofori, Harrison Afful, Lumor Agbenyenu, John Boye, Daniel Amartey, Ebenezer Ofori, Thomas Agyepong, Thomas Partey, Asamoah Gyan (C), Raphael Dwamena, Andre Ayew:

Subs: Majeed Waris, Jordan Ayew, Jonathan Mensah, Afriyie Acquah, Frank Acheampong, Joseph Addo

Ethiopia XI: Abel, Tesfaye, Kasim, Tamene, Tefaye, Panom, Mesfin, Bekele, Giday, Okwury, Getaneh

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Black Stars hammer Ethiopia 5-0 in AFCON 2019 qualifier appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Coach Kwesi Appiah, taking charge of his first competitive game since being reappointed also hands debuts to Lumor Agbenyenu, Thomas Agyepong and highly-rated striker Raphael Dwamena.

Andre Ayew retains his spot on the team but his brother Jordan has to make do with a place on the bench despite a decent AFCON and end to the season at Swansea.

John Boye and Daniel Amartey are the preferred central defensive partnership meaning Jonathan Mensah starts from the bench. 

Atletico Madrid’s Thomas Partey anchors the Black Stars midfield while Richard Ofori gets the nod in goal ahead of Joseph Addo.

Black Stars XI:

Richard Ofori, Harrison Afful, Lumor Agbenyenu, John Boye, Daniel Amartey, Ebenezer Ofori, Thomas Agyepong, Thomas Partey, Asamoah Gyan (C), Raphael Dwamena, Andre Ayew:

Subs: Majeed Waris, Jordan Ayew, Jonathan Mensah, Afriyie Acquah, Frank Acheampong, Joseph Addo

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Gyan, Andre Ayew start for Black Stars against Ethiopia appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The victory in Antananarivo followed a 1-0 away win four days ago in the first leg of the preliminary tie and gave the Madagascans a 4-2 aggregate triumph.

Madagascar last won two qualifiers in a row when they defeated Comoros 6-2 and 4-0 in a combined 2010 World Cup/Cup of Nations eliminator.

The Indian Ocean islanders join Senegal, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan in Group A of 2019 qualifying with their first fixture set to take place in Khartoum in June.

North African-based Madagascans scored the goals that gave their home fans a rare chance to celebrate an important victory.

Egypt-based Paulin Voavy (pictured) bagged a brace within 17 minutes of the kick-off and Carolus Andriamahitsinoro from Algerian club USMA scored on 80 minutes.

Ferreria Soares and Adilson Varela scored for Sao Tome e Principe.

On Tuesday, Mauritius and South Sudan have home advantage as they seek to overcome two-goal deficits against the Comoros and Djibouti respectively.

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Source: BBC

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