Stars pledge victory over Togo

Ghana’s Black Stars go into this afternoon’s crunch encounter with the Hawks of Togo full of determination to secure qualification to next year's Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as group winners.

Even though the Stars will be playing without injured midfielder Andre Ayew, morale in camp is high, coupled with the massive support they are promised in Tamale.

In spite of the absence of the Olympique Marseille player, who has been ruled out of today’s match due to a thigh injury in last Saturday’s 0-1 loss to Uganda, the Stars will be boosted by the inclusion of Jordan Ayew, after serving a one match suspension.

Caretaker coach Maxwell Konadu wrapped up his preparation yesterday at the Tamale stadium where he guided the team to defeat Guinea 3-1 last month.

In the absence of the substantive captain and Andre Ayew, this afternoon’s match could see midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu wear the captain’s armband  to face the Emmanuel Adebayor-led Hawks who are bottom of Group E and desperately need an away win to go through.

The Ghanaian players were in high spirits yesterday after receiving encouragement and the blessings of the Gulkpe-Naa, Abdulai Alhassan, during a courtesy call at his palace in Tamale. The Gulkpe-Naa is also the representative of His Majesty Kampakuye-Naa Andani Yakubu Abdulai, the Regent of Dagbon and acting president of Dagbon Traditional Council.

Apart from asking for God’s blessings for the team, the traditional leader also presented 25 pieces of smocks to the team, in addition to a big white bull and 100 tubers of yam.

Meanwhile, the authorities are gearing up to deal with the huge crowd expected this afternoon, with Mohammed Alhassan Bako, the Northern Regional Football Association vice chairman, giving an assurance that all the necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure the success of the match. 

The match kicks-off at 4.00 p.m. (16:00 GMT) with the gates opening at 1p.m.