Kpaka had an eventful debut

Sierra Leone debutante Paul Kpaka was a hero turned villain against Gabon as he scored and then got himself sent off.

But his late elbow was not enough to seriously damage his team's chances of taking all three points in a one-sided match in Freetown.

The Leone Stars dominated from the off and Kpaka seemed immediately keen to carry his excellent form in Europe into the match.

Gabon, lacklustre in their opening 1-0 defeat to Morocco, never really seemed to more than half awake.

And it was sleepy defending that allowed Sierra Leone to get a penalty shortly before half time.

Lamin Conteh was given too much room and waltzed into the area, only to be viciously hacked down by the recovering defender.

Conteh stepped up to take the penalty himself and missed, but was fortunate to see Kpaka force home the ball.

Seven minutes after half time the Leone Stars had doubled their lead, China-based Mamadou Alpha Jor Bah finding the net, and Gabon were down, out and heading home.

However, there was still drama to come, as with five minutes to go Kpaka lashed out with his elbow and was ordered directly off the pitch.

It was a sad end to the match for him, but a happy return to the business of playing football for his team-mates and manager, Sam Obi Metzger, after their ordeal in Bouake last month.