The Eagles of Mali defeated the Black Stars of Ghana 3-0 in an International friendly played on Friday night at the Emir Sports complex in Antalya, Turkey.
According to local media reports, the Malians opened scoring through Captain Hamari Traore in the 3rd minute of the match, when he took advantage of the lapses in the Ghanaian defence and took a smashing shot that beat Ghana’s goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi.
Although the Ghanaian Head Coach made some changes in the line up, but the move did not make much impact as the Black Stars lacked the right creativity and organization needed to execute the match.
The Eagles of Mali scored again early in the second half, 47th minute, when El Bilal Toure’s header from a cross by Harare Traore, beat the Black Stars goal keeper for the second for the Malian team..
The Black Stars made some spirited efforts to get back to the game, but they were completely marked out and denied from playing their game.
The Malians added the third goal of the night through Amadou Haidara to complete their trouncing of the Black Stars, who had a bad and unimpressive outing for the day.
For Coach Akonnor, who was having his first match since his appointment in January, this year, the performance of the Black Stars must have been a huge disappointment.
But the Black Stars are expected to redeem their image when they take on the Asian Champions and 2022 World Cup host Qatar on Monday, October 12 for the second international friendly at the Titanic sports complex in Antalya, Turkey.
GIK/APA