Two second half goals from Kwadwo Asamoah and Mathew Amoah saw the Black Stars of Ghana win their crucial World Cup/CAN qualifier against Mali in Bamako. The win keeps Ghana on top of Group 4 with the six maximum points from two games while Benin, 1-0 winners over Sudan also on Sunday keeps second spot with three points. Razak Omotoyossi was the lone goal hero for the Squirrels. Mali opened fire from the blast of referee Divine Evehe's whistle and kept the Stars in defence for sporadic periods at the Stade de l'Amite. The Black Stars managed occasional breaks, playing tight in midfield and shutting supplies to national hero Freddie Kanoute from the flanks where Harrison Afful and John Paintsil operated with calculated ease, and from midfield where the mercurial Michael Essien, Eric Addo, Anthony Annan and Opoku Agyemang kept a loom-like cooperation. Mali appeared to lose concentration as the game wore on, and from 40 minutes started reeling in defence as the Ghanaians stormed out in search of goals. 67 minutes on and Kwadwo Asamoah would drive home a powerful left footer from 25 meters to put Ghana ahead before Mathew Amoah sealed the win deep into second half with a graciously taken shot in the Malian box. Mali had threatened all manner of scorelines ahead of the game, keeping many Ghanaians in suspense, particularly so when injury took out a couple of tested Black Stars players while others pulled out for various reasons. And after the final whistle, Mali's coach Stephen Keshi shook his head in disbelief, disappointed his charges could not live up to the pre-match boast. Mali is bottom of the table behind Sudan. Both nations have a point each but Sudan has one goal deficit as against two by Mali. Story by Isaac Yeboah/Myjoyonline.com