Black Stars pip Lesotho 2-1

The Black Stars, Ghana's senior national team on Tuesday beat an in transit Lesotho national team by two goals to one in a friendly match at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The match, which was the first under coach Emmanuel Afranie lacked the excitement that fans had anticipated as the Stars failed to threaten their opponents in the first half hour.

Parading a mostly local squad spiced with four Europe based professionals- John Mensah, Razak Ibrahim, Peter Ofori Quaye and Abubakari Yakubu - the Stars kicked off and retained possession for about three minutes during which they strung passes across the field and shuffled well to raise the hopes of the fans.

But when the visitors took over they drew cheers from the spectators with their man-to-man passes but failed to penetrate the Stars' defence thereby limiting action in the midfield.

The Stars broke the deadlock in the 40th minute when Charles Taylor converted a penalty after Michael Osei was upended in the box by a desperate Lesotho defender.

The visitors increased the tempo of the game in the second half and got a deserving equaliser in the 55th minute when nimble footed Makhele sneaked past the Ghanaians back line and thundered a left footer past Sammy Adjei who had been severely exposed and failed to react.

The fans then shifted their loyalty to the visitors and cheered them on as they tormented the Stars with crisp passes but they woefully lacked punch up front.

The game changed from the 55th minute when the Stars restored their lead through a picturesque goal scored by Olympiakos of Greece hit man, Peter Ofori Quaye.

Don Bortey who had come in for Isaac Boakye had made a precise delivery of a corner kick from the right flank and Ofori Quaye snapped a non-drop shot with his right foot into the net.

The Southern Africans fought back but the Ghanaian defence remained resolute and extended Sammy Adjei's holiday period in the posts.

The Black Stars pressed forward in the dying embers of the game but their forays could not get them any more goals till the end.

Coach Afranie told the GNA after the match that he was satisfied with the performance of the team, being their first match under him.

The coach said he was expecting Derek Boateng, Stephen Appiah, Dan Edusei and Augustine Arhinful on Wednesday to beef up the team.

GHANA: Sammy Adjei, Aziz Ansah, (Hamza Mohammed) John Paintsil, Joe Hendrix, John Mensah, Yakubu Abubakari, Michael Osei (Don Bortey) Razak Ibrahim (Edmund Copson) Isaac Boakye (Kwami Agbadza) and skipper Charles Taylor