The Black Stars in a a jubilant mood
Turkey-based defender John Boye translated his fine scoring form at club level to international duty as he netted for the second goal for the West African giants in their unimpressive 3-1 win over the AFCON minnows at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Anderlecht star Frank Acheampong opened the scoring for Ghana before Aston Villa forward Jordan Ayew sealed the win with a diamond-gilded chip from an intelligent Christian Atsu tailored cross.
GHANAsoccernet.com runs the rule over how the Black Stars rated against the Southern African side in Accra.
Razak Brimah - 6.5/10
The Cordoba goalkeeper had the nod to start ahead of the in-form Portland Timbers returnee Adam Kwarasey. But he failed to keep a clean sheet as substitute Apson Manjate climbed off the bench to pull a goal back for visitors whose chances of making the grade for an AFCON qualification for first time since 2010.
Harrison Afful - 7/10
Exciting and influential on the lateral defence as ever. The Columbus Crew man employed his pace and intelligence to outwit his markers and even joined the attacking force at times.
Baba Rahman - 6.5/10
The Chelsea man made vital contributions from defence, marshaling his lines with diligence and provided venom for the wingers to attack the visitors.
John Boye - 7.5/10
Scored his fourth international goal with determination. He followed up a Christian Atsu effort and scored with the second attempt. Suffered an injury and had to be replaced in the second-half.
Jonathan Mensah - 6/10
Lack of form had a toll on Mensah's form. At his new club in the Russian Premier League, the 25-year-old struggle to form a good partnership with Boye. The telepathy was lacking at some point.
Afriyie Acquah - 6.5/10
The Torino man was a workhorse in the middle and provided energy to engineer the game from central midfield. But the Black Stars's obsession to deploy the flanks limited his impact on the game.
Wakaso Mubarak - 6/10
Though the Las Palmas workaholic midfielder overcame his fitness issues to start the game, he could not travel the entire duration of the tie as he was replaced. He struggled to impose himself on the game.
Christian Atsu - 7.5/10
Assist two goal on the afternoon. The Chelsea loanee assisted John Boye's goal with a chicanery-pass before artfully playing creating the second goal for Jordan Ayew with a clever pass from midfield.
Frank Acheampong - 7/10
The Anderlecht justified his invitation by scoring on his return to the national team. He opened the scoring under four minutes but missed a couple of glaring chances. He was forced off with injury and replaced by Leicester utility man Jeffrey Schlupp.
Majeed Waris - 6/10
Should have scored on the afternoon but he missed crucial chances in upfront. Won a legitimate penalty in the second-half but was ignored by the Algerian center referee.
Jordan Ayew - 7/10
The Aston Villa forward scored from a fabulous lob in the 73rd minute from a creative midfield pass from Malaga winger Christian Atsu. With Asamoah Gyan absent, Ayew dropped deep to fight for balls and initiated attacks.
