Match report: Black Stars beat Legon Cities 3-1

Former Ghana skipper Asamoah Gyan was on target for Legon Cities as they succumbed to the Black Stars by 3-1 in a friendly on Wednesday at the Accra Sports Stadium.

The former Sunderland striker found the back of the net from the spot after Jonah Attuquaye was brought down in the box with 10 minutes to end proceedings.

The Black Stars had taken a 3-0 lead before Gyan pulled the consolation for the Ghana Premier League side in a game the Black Stars showed quality.

Asante Kotoko striker Kwame Opoku fired the Black Stars in front after he was neatly put through by Yaw Annor 20 minutes into the game.

Opoku broke away from his marker but struggled to go past the Legon Cities goalie forcing him to set back for Yaw Annor who intelligently located Opoku again to break the virginity of the game.

The Kotoko striker came close to firing the second goal of the afternoon after he was once again set up by Yaw Annor ten after his opener but his feeble strike was no threat for the Cities goalkeeper.

The game weared off to the break with the Black Stars riding with their 1-0 lead.

Midfielder Mubarak Wakaso increased the tally 7 minutes after the break with a sumptuous tap-in, connecting excellently to a Kwame Opoku cross from the right to make it 2-0 for Ghana.

Just on the brink of being substituted, Bechem United skipper Moro Salifu headed home the third goal for the Black Stars after Joseph Esso sent a pass back with his head for Moro to connect home to increase the tally for the national team to 3-0.

Legon Cities substitute Shamsudeen ‘Amando’ Alhassan came close to reducing the tally on two occasions but was denied by Ofori Antwi and those were the only moments the home side came close to scoring.

With ten minutes to end the game, Jonah Attuquaye was pushed off the ball by a Black Stars defender in the glaring view of the referee who did not waste time in pointing to the spot for a penalty.

Gyan expertly slotted the ball into the net to reduce the tally for the Ghana Premier League side to leave the final score 3-1 for the Black Stars.

The game forms part of preparations for the Black Stars ahead of their 2022 AFCON Qualifiers with South Africa and Sao Tome.

Below is the Black Stars XI and substitutes for the game:

Ofori Antwi (GK)

Philimon Baffour, Moro Ibrahim, Jamaldeen Haruna, Abdul Ganiu Ismail

Moro Salifu, Mubarak Wakaso, Rashid Nortey, Yaw Annor

Gladson Awako Kwame Opoku

Sub’s

Emmanuel Boateng, Joseph Esso, Dennis Korsah, Justice Blay