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Ethiopia 1-1 Ghana: Black Stars suffer World Cup qualification blow after uninspiring draw

Ghana’s hopes of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has suffered a huge blow following a 1-1 draw with Ethiopia on Thursday afternoon.

Ethiopia 1-1 Ghana: Black Stars suffer World Cup qualification blow after uninspiring draw

Andre Ayew’s 22nd minute goal from a direct free-kick gave Milovan Rajevac’s side the lead, but the Walias restored parity in the second half thanks to a bullish finish from Getaneh Kebede.

The draw sees the Black Stars move level on points with Group G rivals South Africa, who have a game in hand against Zimbabwe later in the day.

Rajevac named a strong starting line-up against the Walias, who hosted Ghana at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg due to the poor condition of their home pitch.

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The Ayew brothers, Andre and Jordan, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Mohammed Kudus were all handed starting spots.

Goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott also retained his position in post while Andy Yiadom returned to take his place at right-back.

Daniel Amartey and Joseph Aidoo were the centre-back pairing, with Abdul Baba Rahman occupying the left-back slot.

Meanwhile, Richmond Boakye-Yiadom, who returned to the squad after more than a year away, also started as the lone striker.

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Despite naming a star-studded starting line-up, it was Ethiopia who started the game on the ascendency by enjoying the larger share of possession.

However, Ghana had the first big chance of the game after just six minutes, only for the Ethiopian goalkeeper to produce a double save to deny Andre Ayew’s shot and the subsequent rebound from Boakye-Yiadom.

There would, however, be no denying of Andre for the second time as he struck from a free-kick to give the Black Stars the lead after 22 minutes.

The opening goal, though, awakened the Walias, who constantly troubled Ghana’s defence for the better part of the first half.

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Wollacot was tested twice within the space of four minutes, with the goalkeeper pulling two saves to keep his side in the game.

The second half started pretty much as the first, with Ethiopia dominating play and the Black Stars sitting back.

And it didn’t take long for the Walias to make their dominance count. Getaneh Kebede took advantage of Ghana’s sloppy defending to eqaulise in the 75th minute.

The equaliser forced Ghana to open up again but their efforts weren’t enough as the game ended 1-1.

Meanwhile, the result means the Black Stars are now level on points with South Africa in Group C, but Bafana Bafana could move three points clear if they beat Zimbabwe later on Thursday.

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