The Black Stars of Ghana train under the protective eye of Angolan soldiers

By Matthew Kenyon BBC Sport, Cabinda

Ghana's Black Stars and the Elephants of Ivory Coast are preparing as best they can for Friday's crucial encounter in Group B - overshadowed as it is by the ominous absence of Togo.

A game which was long looked forward to as the highlight of the entire group stage at the African Cup of Nations will go ahead as planned, but the build up has been very different.

This was expected to be a thrilling and special group with all four teams coming from West Africa, and including two World Cup qualifiers, but the departure of Togo has cast a long shadow.

When you are on the field you forget about everything and everyone needs to fight for a position in the quarter-finals. Andre 'Dede' Ayew

"We and Togo are like brothers, it's painful what happened," Ghana star Andre 'Dede' Ayew told the BBC's African sports programme Fast Track.

Training has been continuing as normal but the remaining squads are kept under strict security in the players' village and only move with a large armed escort.

"Everyone was afraid I think, it got to a point where you think about your security, but the people here assured us, our big men assured us, and for us it was much easier [to stay] than for the Togolese," Ayew said.

Watching the Black Stars squad training on Tuesday just outside the Chiazi Stadium here in Cabinda it was obvious that everyone was delighted to concentrate on football.

And with Ivory Coast surprisingly drawing their opening match against Burkina Faso, Ghana know they have a great chance to top the group.

Off-field worries are placed aside when on the pitch, says Dede

"When you are on the field you forget about everything and everyone needs to fight for a position in the quarter-finals," Ayew told the BBC.

"[Ivory Coast are] a great team, they are the favourites in this tournament no doubt, so we have to give them respect - but we all want to succeed for our nation."

With only three teams left in the group and the opening match finishing with a draw, a win over the Ivorians is all that is needed for the Black Stars to go through to the quarter-finals.

Despite the awful circumstances of this group, Ghana still want to lay down a marker for the rest of the competition.

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