Togo bounce back to hold Liberia

Liberia gave up a two-goal lead as Togo came back to hold them to a 2-2 draw in their Group A clash on Sunday in Monrovia.

The game which attracted a packed crowd at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium witnessed saw Liberia scoring early in both halves for the two-goal advantage, which put them on the brink of qualification only for Togo to cancel the lead midway.

The Lone Stars went up as early as the eighth minute through Israeli-based Gizzie Dorbor who tucked home from close range.

After the opener, there were series of close chances for the Lone Stars to cement the lead with the likes of Williams Jebor, Anthony Snorti Laffor and Francis Grandpa Doe all having decent chances at goal.

Midfielder Floyd Ayite nearly equalized for the Togolese from a free-kick at the edge of the penalty area, but his curling shot hit the crossbar with the Liberia goalie completely beaten.

Nine minutes into the break, Williams Jebor doubled the homers with a spectacular scissor kick, a contender for best goal of the qualifiers, which brought crowd at the stadium on their feet.

However, the Liberians celebrations were abruptly cut short when Ayite took advantage of a defensive blunder to head home on 67 minutes to reduce the deficit.

Seven minutes from time, Kodjo Laba headed home the equalizer from a corner to silence the crowd.

The result means that the group winner will be decided on the final round of matches in September. Liberia share top spot with Tunisia on 10 points each, two more than Togo with Djibouti in that order pointless.