Soccer-Raggae Boyz to undertake two-match tour of Ghana
Soccer-Vipers pip Mines Stars 1-0
Soccer-Results of 19th week ABC/Premier League football league matches :
Soccer-Hearts whack Bofoakwa 4-0
ABC/Premier League standings after the 19th week matches
Sports writers honour award winners
SWAG condemn Stadiums probe report
Soccer-Raggae Boyz to undertake two-match tour of Ghana
Accra (Greater Accra), 12th July 99, --
The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) is to sponsor a two-match soccer tour of Ghana by the Jamaica national soccer team, the Raggae Boyz next month.
The 180 million-cedi package includes airfare and hotel accommodation.
The Jamaicans will meet the Black Stars in their first match at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday, August seven and play Kumasi Asante Kotoko at the Kumasi Sports Stadium on Wednesday, August eleven.
The matches form part of activities of the forthcoming fourth Pan-African Historical Theatre Festival, Panafest '99, scheduled for July 30 to August eight.
Mr Kojo Yankah, Chairman of the Panafest Board told a press briefing in Accra on Friday that Wittnauer Limited, a watch-manufacturing firm in the United States has presented two trophies (President and PANAFEST) to be competed for in the Accra and Kumasi matches respectively.
Mr Yankah, who is also the Ashanti Regional Minister, said Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs will host Asante Kotoko at the refurbished Cape Coast Stadium on August six as part of activities to raise funds for the festival.
He said the Cape Coast stadium was chosen because of its historical background in the triangular slave trade on the continent.
Ex-Black Stars captain, Abedi Ayew Pele will be the special guest of honour for all the three matches.
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Soccer-Vipers pip Mines Stars 1-0
Cape Coast (Central Region), 12th July 99 –
Cape Cast Venomous Vipers played a determined game to beat Prestea Mines Stars 1-0, in their first division football league match played at Cape Coast Sports Stadium last Saturday.
Vipers Stamped their authority on the game right from kick off and should have gone ahead in the 15th minute when they earned a penalty but inside left Tawia Mensah wasted the kick.
Mines Stars resumed the second half very strongly and put Vipers under severe pressure but poor shooting up-front robbed them of any goals.
In the 70th minute, the trend of the game changed in favour of Vipers and after persistent raids in the Mines Stars’ vital area, left winger, Egya Arhin scored the lone goal in a goal mouth action in the 75th minute.
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Mankessim (Central Region), 12th July 99 –
Mankessim Borber Mfantse whipped their local rivals, Mfantse United 3-0 in their Central Regional second division football league match played at Mankessim on Saturday.
Borber led 1-0 at half-time form a goal scored by centre forward Kamara Ninsen, in the 24th minute.
Inspired by the lead, Borbor resumed the second half strongly and scored two more goals through, right winger Peter Quainoo and inside left, Yaw Tutu in the 77th and 88th minutes respectively.
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Soccer-Results of 19th week ABC/Premier League football league matches :
Accra: Hearts...Four (4) Bofoakwa...Nil (0)
Kumasi: Kotoko...One (1) Afienya...Nil (0)
Sekondi: Hasaacas... One (1) RTU... Nil (0)
Obuasi: Goldfields...One (1) Power...Nil (0)
Nkawkaw: Okwawu...Two (2) Olympics...One (1)
Cape Coast: Dwarfs...Two (2) Liberty...Nil (0)
Dawu: Dawu...Nil (0) Faisal...Nil (0)
Tema: Ghapoha...Nil (0) All Blacks...Nil (0)
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Soccer-Hearts whack Bofoakwa 4-0
Accra (Greater Accra), 12th July 99 –
Two goals each by Joe Fameyeh and "wonder boy" Ishmael Addo, helped Accra Hearts of Oak to dismiss visiting Tano Bofoakwa 4-0 in their ABC Golden Lager Premier football league match played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
The Phobians could have made a bumper harvest in the match but striker Osumanu Amadu threw most of the scoring chances away before he was substituted in the second half.
Hearts kicked off but it took them some time to find their rhythm and when they did midfielder Charles Allotey made the first goal attempt with a left footer shot which sailed over the cross bar.
In the 17th minute Amadu had one of the finest opportunities to put Hearts ahead but with only goalkeeper Damba Mohammed to beat the bulky striker shot wide.
But Amadu managed to set Fameyeh up in the 21st minute as he tapped the ball into an empty net for Hearts' opener.
After that goal, Fameyeh became a target of rough play and in the 28th and 32nd minutes, Ashanti Manpong-based class one referee, Alhassan Brobbey had showed the yellow card to defenders Kwame Antwi and Nana Gyanfi respectively, for reckless tackle.
Hearts brought on Addo for Amadu at the commencement of the second half. He partnered beautifully with Fameyeh and play-maker Yartey and gave the defence of the visitors a lot to worry about.
Fameyeh increased the tally to two in the 65th minute with an tapped the ball into the net after it dropped onto his path following mid-air tussle between Addo and goalkeeper Mohammed.
Two minutes later, Yartey put Addo through to head home the third goal and in the 82nd minute he scored his personal second and the fourth for Hearts.
The visitors never posed any serious challenge to Hearts except in the last three minutes of the game but they could not score.
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Cape Coast: Cape Coast Ebusua Dwarfs beat Liberty Professionals 2-0 in their match played at Cape Coast with Michael Osei scoring both goals in the 5th and 25th minutes.
Osei, on both occasions, beat the off side trap set up by the visitors and dribbled the Liberty goalie Yaw Berkoe to put the ball into an empty net.
In the second half, Dwarfs increased the tempo of the game and made several goal attempts but substitute goalkeeper, Addo Cudjoe made spectacular saves.
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Kumasi: Kumasi Asante Kotoko scored a not-too-impressive 1-0 victory over bottom club Afienya United in their match played at the Kumasi Sports Stadium.
Kotoko looked sluggish and uninspiring in the match as they failed to string their passes together and also looked too ordinary.
The spectators, who had anticipated a resounding victory for Kotoko following Afienya's below par performance of late, sat through 90 minutes of a boring game.
Kotoko managed to score the only goal in the 33rd minute from a corner-kick taken by wing-half Kofi Owusu and connected into the net by Prince Adu Poku.
Despite the goal, Kotoko could not stamp their authority on the match allowing Afienya lots of room to manoeuvre as they pressed for the equaliser.
George Siaw failed to increase the lead in the 49th minute when he shot wide from close range. A minute later Kotoko replaced Gordwin Abloredey with Kambou Clovis.
Goalkeeper Shjarpe David of Afienya was carried off the field in the 53rd minute when he writhed in pain after colliding with Adam Armando of Kotoko.
He was replaced with Mike Sewono who denied Kotoko a goal in the 54th minute when he dived to push the ball out after Armando's free-kick hit the wood work.
After this, Afienya laid siege on the goal-area of Kotoko as they piled on the pressure for the equaliser but Kotoko's central defender Malilu Dramani foiled all the menacing moves.
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Obuasi: Fast-improving Obuasi Goldfields enriched their point build-up when they scored a 1-0 win over Koforidua-based Power FC in their match played at the Len Clay Stadium.
The beauty of the game was marred by over 70 minutes of rainfall which rendered ball control and player movement very difficult.
However, Goldfields' Guinean import, Abdul Sylla made victory ceratin for his side by scoring the only goal of the match when his powerful grounder, which went through a forest of legs, beat goalkeeper Humphrey Amoah in posts for Power.
Inspired by the goal, Goldfields sustained the pressure and earned two corner kicks in the 34th and 40th minutes but they were wasted.
Just before the end of the half, Goldfields replaced injured Eben Dadzie with James Boateng.
The vistors resumed the second half, determined to level up and therefore pushed more men up front.
They brought on Anthony Opoku for Solomon Awuku in the 67th minute and James Amarquaye and Daniel Duuah came on for Julian Amu and Charles Asamoah in the 85th minute respectively but the changes did not help them redeem the goal.
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Nkawkaw: Okwawu United played a highly determined game to beat Accra Great Olympics 2-1 in their match played at the Nkawkaw stadium on Sunday.
Okwawu got the first goal as early as the seventh minute when Nii Aryee Tetteh's header from the right flank went to Richard Addo whose perfect kick beat goalkeeper Osei Boateng of Olympics.
Olympics fought back and equalised a minute later through Wisdom Abbey when he connected home Kwame Ali's pass Okwawu found the net again in the 14th minute through Tetteh but it disallowed by referee Buckman Yanney of Saltpond for a foul on goalie Boateng.
In the 18th minute, Okwawu's Addo made it 2-1 when he connected the ball into the net from a corner kick effected by Johson Eklu.
Sensing danger, Olympics replaced goalkeeper Boateng with Sam Quaye in the 30th minute and started playing it hard to put fear into the homesters.
At a certain stage of the game, the chairman of Okwawu United, Mr Kwame Ofosu Bamfo had to make a verbal protest to the match commissioner, Mr Kofi Sam to advice the referee to be fair and firm.
Olympics made another substitution in the 47th minute, when they pulled out Laryea Kingston for Jonathan Abeiku while Okwawu brought on Shamo Abbey for injured Tetteh in the 50th minute but the score line could not be changed.
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Tema: Ghapoha Readers and visiting Swedru All Blacks settled for a goalless drawn game in their match at the Tema Sports Stadium.
The match, which was delayed for more than 30 minutes following the late arrival of the visitors, saw GHAPOHA making efforts at goal in the first 15 minutes but they could not transform any of their moves into goals.
The home team continued their dominance and nearly went ahead in the 38th minute but left winger Philip Ayippey’s header was expertly saved by goalkeeper Justice Quarcoo of All Blacks.
GHAPOHA nearly broke the deadlock in the 85th minute but centre forward Adolf Mensah's beautiful shot was saved by keeper Quarcoo.
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Dawu: King Faisal held Dawu Youngsters to a goalless drawn game in their match played at the Dawu Sports Stadium.
King Faisal dominated the first half of the match but failed to penetrate the defence of Dawu.
The trend changed in favour of Dawu in the second half as they forced the visitors to abandon their free flow football but they also could not score.
The brightest chance for Dawu came in the 81st minute when striker Eric Mbioh failed to connect the ball in front of goal.
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ABC/Premier League standings after the 19th week matches
Team Locale/Region P W D L F A Pts
Hearts Accra, Gt. Accra 19 13 3 3 37 14 42
Goldfields Obuasi, Ashanti 19 12 0 7 23 14 36
Dwarfs Cape Coast, Central 19 10 3 6 26 21 33
Hasaacas Sekondi, Western 19 9 6 4 23 14 33
Olympics Accra, Gt. Accra 19 9 5 5 19 16 32
Kotoko Kumasi, Ashanti 19 10 3 6 27 21 30
RTU Tamale, Northern 19 8 3 8 25 22 27
Okwawu Nkawkaw, Eastern 19 8 2 9 20 19 26
Power F/C Koforidua, Eastern 19 7 4 8 16 19 25
Faisal Kumasi, Ashanti 19 6 6 7 20 19 24
All Blacks Swedru, Central 19 6 5 7 20 22 23
Liberty Accra, Gt. Accra 19 7 2 9 18 21 23
Bofoakwa Sunyani, B/A 19 7 1 11 14 26 22
Dawu Dawu, Eastern 19 4 10 6 19 22 21
GHAPOHA Tema, Gt. Accra 19 3 8 8 11 23 18
Afienya Afienya, Gt. Accra 19 1 4 13 9 36 7
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Sports writers honour award winners
Accra (Greater Accra), 12th July 99 –
Raymond Narh, the only Ghanaian gold medallist (lightweight division) at last year's Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, was crowned the 1998 sportsman of the year by the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG).
He was among 18 award winners, including international soccer star Samuel Osei Kuffour of Baryern Munich, who was adjudged the Footballer of the Year, honoured by SWAG at the 24th annual SWAG-ABC Awards Nite at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra on Saturday night.
Narh, was presented with a 20-inch colour television donated by Mitsui, a cash of two million cedis, a trophy and a certificate.
The first Ghanaian senior soccer team to qualify for the world cup, the Black Queens, won the team of the year while the skipper of the team, Alberta Sackey, snatched the award for dedication and valour.
The Queens received two million cedis, 25 branded T-shirts from co-sponsors State Insurance Corporation (SIC), a trophy and a certificate from SWAG.
Osei Kuffour took home a 14-inch colour television set and a portrait received on his behalf by Mr Albert Sam of the Daily Graphic.
Accra Hearts of Oak were the top scoring team, Joe Fameyeh, (Goal-king), Imurana Inusah, (Juvenile player), Kwame Ampofo Addo, (Most promising Star), Kofi Jantuah, (Professional Boxer), and Andrew Owusu, (Athlete of the year).
Others were Mona Captan (Female Golfer of the year), Anthony Amuzu, (Male golfer of the year), Shelly Ogoe Panford, (Junior Tennis player of the year), Afua Oforiwaa, (Discovery of the year), and Alfred Cudjoe, (Hockey player of the year).
The rest were Ivy Aryeetey, (Prospect of the year), Vivian Mensah of the Black Queens and Ex-WO1 Amartey Armah were presented with special awards.
Amartey Armah (Sycoachie), who has been the masseur of the Black Stars for over 20 years received two million cedis cash, a trophy and a certificate.
The rest of the award winners were each given 500,000 cedis cash, a trophy a certificate and a 14 inch colour television set.
In addition to their prizes, Afua Oforiwaa and Shelly Ogoe-Panford received three half pieces of cloth and Joe Fameyeh a piece of cloth, all from Akosombo Textiles Limited.
Trendy Sports, provided a set of football kits to Imurana Inusah and gave the assurance to continue to kit him till he turns professional.
Over 200 invited guests, including Ministers of State, distinguished sports personalities, attended the ceremony which was jointly sponsored by Ghana Brewery Limited and SIC.
In attendance was the Marriots International Band.
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SWAG condemn Stadiums probe report
Accra (Greater Accra), 12th July 99 –
The Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) last night described the Tagoe Committee's report on the Accra and Kumasi Stadiums probe as time wasting and an insult to the intelligence of most Ghanaians.
Mr Joe Aggrey, the SWAG president, called for the rejection of the report by the appointing authorities, at the 24th annual SWAG-ABC awards nite at which 18 sportsmen and women were honoured in their various sporting fields at the Banquet hall of the State House in Accra.
Raymond Narh, the only Ghanaian gold medallist at last year's Commonwealth Games in Malaysia, grabbed the highest award of the 1998 sportsman of the year.
Mr Aggrey described the report as a "worthless document not fit to be taken seriously by any serious-minded persons".
The Tagoe Committee was set up by Vice-President John Evans Atta Mills last February following public outcry over the alleged illegal ward of contracts for the rehabilitation of the two stadiums for the 11th African U-20 soccer championship staged in Ghana.
Touching on the Black Queens, he said their participation at the third FIFA women's World cup should mark the beginning of bigger things to come for not only women's soccer but also of the men.
Mr Aggrey expressed the hope that this would break the long standing jinx for the Black Stars to join the elite sports nations for the 2002 World Cup to be staged by Japan and South Korea.
"Success will only come if we change our way of doing things from the adhocism and crash programmes to well-defined strategy and above all being more professional and honest in our attitudes in order to lay the right foundation for the goal we aspire to".
He said the soccer authorities shall have to look at a more scientific way of developing the game and suggested that the schools could be a good breeding ground for talent if the game is to have a firmer foundation.
He said that the Black Stars by virtue of their qualification to co-host next year's African Cup of Nations have not been participating in the qualifying series, adding that unless plans have been drawn to keep them busy, they might be caught "pants down" when the tournament begins.
Nana Kwasi Gyan the III, a retired footballer, who was the guest of honour, touched on a wide range of subjects including a national pension scheme for retired footballers, scholarships for young sportsmen and general welfare of the sportsmen.
Also known as Agyeman Gyawu, he called on the government to appoint more dynamicand efficient sports administrators to run the Ghana Football Association saying, there is the need for the government to support the various national teams financially in international assignments.
The awards nite was jointly sponsored the Ghana Brewery Limited and the State Insurance Corporation. In attendance was the Marriots International Band.
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