GRi Sports 28-06-99

A hat-trick by Yaw Sakyi enabled Accra Hearts of Oak to thrash Power FC 4-1 in their 17^th week ABC premier league match, played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.

Sakyi, who has had a long lay-off due to a nagging knee injury, fired in the three goals in the 23rd, 37th and 48th minutes, while Dan Quaye scored the fourth goal in the 77th minute.

Charles Asamoh scored the consolation goal for the Koforidua-based club in the 52nd minute.

The Phobians showed glimpses of carrying the day right from the 14th minute, when Desmond Amoah sneaked through the Power defence. But with only goalkeeper Alfred Mills to beat, the Hearts midfielder shot wide.

The ball, however, went in the direction of Ishmael Addo, who was lurking on the right flank unmarked. But to the disappointment of the fans, he also blasted the ball off target in front of an empty net.

Hearts made up for their earlier misses when 23 minutes inside the half, Sakyi headed home a beautiful cross from Amoah. The Phobians improved on their game after the goal and found the net again 13 minutes later. Once again, Amoah was very instrumental, when he dribbled past the Power defenders and the goalkeeper before passing the ball to Sakyi to tap into the empty net.

In the 43rd minute, Sakyi nearly scored again through a solo effort, but after weaving through the Power defence, his final shot went against the side netting. He, however, got the third goal three minutes on resumption of the second half.

Addo capitalised on a defence blunder on the part of Power's Acquah Harrison and sent a pass to Sakyi, who shot to the blind side of goalkeeper Mills.

In the 52nd minute, Power, who had problems stringing their passes together for the entire first half, for once initiated a one-touch move from defence, and Asamoah, who had the final pass, made no mistake when he beat goalkeeper Eben Dida for the consolation goal.

The Koforidua lads brought on another striker, James Amarquaye, for Ato Sam in the 54th minute, but it was Hearts who came close again in the 62nd minute.

The golden opportunity once again fell to Sakyi, when goalkeeper Mills failed to grab first time, a cross from Winfred Dormon. But this time, Sakyi headed off target in front of an empty net.

Substitute Amarquaye of Power also had his chance to reduce the deficit for his side in the 75th minute, but over-elaboration on his part enabled goalkeeper Dida of Hearts to scoop the ball off his feet.

Two minutes later, Hearts' overlapping defender, Quaye, beat the offside trap and goalkeeper Mills to score the fourth goal.

Power came strongly into the game after the goal, but the Hearts defence proved unyielding, and the 4-1 score line remained intact till the final whistle.

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Dwarfs win at home

Cape Coast : An 11th minute goal scored by Dwarfs defender, Stephen Owusu, helped Dwarfs to collect the maximum points in their match against Afienya at the Cape Coast Stadium.

Owusu's kick, a 25-metre free kick zoomed straight into the net for the match winner.

Dwarfs mounted pressure on the visitors and should have scored more goals, but their shots either hit the cross bar or went over the bar.

Afienya, who played with 10 men from the 65th minute when defender Dennis Codjoe was shown the red card for dangerous play, made occasional counter-attacks, but the equaliser eluded them.

In the 30th minute Kenneth Ketteni, a defender of Afienya, who became unconscious after colliding with a colleague was rushed to the Cape Coast regional hospital where he is on admission.

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GHAPOHA fall again at home

Tema: Visiting Real Tamale United (RTU) defeated relegation-haunted Ghapoha F/C 1-0 in their match played at the Tema Sports Stadium.

It was Ghapoha who opened fire after kick-off, but they failed to find the net as their attackers were jittery upfront.

In the 17th minute centre forward Philip Ayippey nearly scored for Ghapoha but found his shot being expertly saved by goalkeeper Suraju Mohammed of RTU.

RTU returned the heat on their opponents in the second session and deseverdly scored the only goal of the match in the 65th minute through Inside-left Fatawu Alora.

Inside-right Abass Iddrisu nearly made it 2-0 five minutes later but messed up the chance.

Ghapoha once again returned the pressure on the visitors but could not penetrate the iron-clad defence of RTU.

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Okwahu triumph over Liberty

Okwawu United beat Liberty Professionals by a lone goal in their match played at the Nkawkaw Park on Sunday.

The goal was scored in the sixth minute through a penalty when a hard pressed defender of Liberty handled the ball in the '18' for defender George Tutu to socre.

Liberty counter-attacked after the goal, with veteran striker, Kofi Deblah combining effectively with Derek Boateng. They, however, failed to utilise the few chances that came their way.

Okwawu nearly made it 2-0 in the 26th minute, but centre forward Essuman Dadzie's scissor-kick in the '18' was parried over the bar by Loius Quainoo in posts for Liberty.

Okwawu continued to pile up pressure and wasted two free kicks outside the Liberty penalty area in the 32nd and 38th minutes.

In the 53rd minute, Liberty brought on Cudjoe Addo for injured goalkeeper Quainoo, while Okwawu also brought on Nii Aryee Tetteh and Richard Addo for Leonard Cofie and Thomas Otinkorang in the 63rd minute.

The changes nearly benefited Okwawu as they came close in the 67th and 68th minutes, but Dadzie and Kwesi Asante's shots at goal were saved by Liberty's goalie.

Liberty put everything into the game for the much-needed equaliser, but the defence of Okwawu, pivoted around Eddie Acquaye, Seth Osei and George Tutu, foiled all their efforts at goal.

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Oly hold Dawu

Dawu: Visiting Accra Great Olympics held Dawu Youngsters to a goalless drawn game in their match played at Dawu Sports Stadium.

Dawu had a golden opportunity to carry the day in the fourth minute, when Oly's defender Nii Noi Duwuona brought down left winger Joshau Kennedy of Dawu in the "box" for a penalty.

But Kennedy shot the resultant kick into the hands of goalkeeper Sam Quaye.

The first half was balanced but the second half saw Dawu putting much pressure on Oly, especially between the 63rd and the 75th minutes but they failed to take the opportunities that came their way.

In the 66th minute Oly's inside left Charles Taylor was sent off for hitting Dawu's substitute Prince Owusu-Ansah in an off-the-ball incident.

And in the 77th minute Dawu's skipper Asibi Nurudeen was also red-carded for a second bookable offence on striker Wisdom Abbey.

At the Sekondi Gyandu park, Hasaacas beat Bofoakwa 3-1.

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The ABC/Premier League Table : How The teams Stand

Team Locale/Region P W D L F A Pts GD

Hearts, Accra, Gt. Accra 17 11 3 3 32 14 36 +18

Hasaacas, Sekondi, Western 17 8 6 3 22 12 30 +10

Dwarfs, Cape Coast, Central 17 9 3 5 24 20 30 +4

Olympics, Accra, Gt. Accra 17 8 5 4 16 14 29 +2

Goldfields, Obuasi, Ashanti 16 9 0 7 19 13 27 +6

Kotoko, Kumasi, Ashanti 16 8 3 5 23 18 27 +5

RTU , Tamale, Northern 17 7 3 7 22 19 24 +3

Okwawu, Nkawkaw, Eastern 17 7 2 8 18 17 23 +1

Liberty, Accra, Gt. Accra 17 7 2 8 17 17 23 0

All Blacks, Swedru, Central 16 6 4 6 19 18 22 +1

Power F/C, Koforidua, Eastern 17 6 4 7 15 18 22 -3

Dawu, Dawu, Eastern 17 4 8 5 18 19 19 -1

Bofoakwa, Sunyani, Brong Ahafo 17 6 1 10 13 22 19 -11

Faisal , Kumasi, Ashanti 16 5 3 8 15 17 18 -2

GHAPOHA Tema, Gt. Accra 17 3 7 7 10 21 16 -11

Afienya , Afienya, Gt. Accra 17 1 4 11 7 32 7 -25

NB The match between Obuasi Goldfields and Kumasi Asante Kotoko at

Obuasi, as well as that of King Faisal and All Blacks at Kumasi were

rained off and have been rescheduled for Monday 28^th June.

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Soccer-Two soccer bodies re-inaugurated

Accra (Greater Accra), 28^th June 99 -

Mr Daniel Ohene Agyekum, Greater Regional Minister, on Friday re-inaugurated the Greater Accra Women Soccer Committee (GAWSOC) and the Juvenile Football Association (JFA).

According to a statement issued in Accra the two committees had not been functioning due to problems which have now been solved.

Members of the GAWSOC are: Fred M. Djan, chairman, George Lawson, vice-chairman, G.P. Ofori, secretary and Joe Anipki, ex-officio member.

The others are Jordan Abagla, E.N. Ofori, S.B. Donkor, Helena Arthur, Dr J.A. Aboagye and Supritendent Judy Gray.

For the JFA, P.K.B. Quainoo is the chairman, H.N.D. Adika, vice chairman, E.Y. Amenumey, secertary, Precious Codjoe, deputy secretary and Joe Anipki, ex-officio member.

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Soccer-Bafana Bafana qualifies for first division league

Cape Coast (Central Region), 28^th June 99 -

Takoradi Bafana Bafana Stars on Tuesday beat Bibiani Gold Stars, 4-3 on penalties in the middle league competition, to qualify for the Zone 2A national first division league.

The match ended 0-0 draw after regulation time and when, the penalty shootout was invoked, Bafana Bafana won the day.

According to Mr M.N.S. Doe, Chairman of the Central Regional Football Association, only the two teams out of six expected for the competition turned up.

He named those who failed to turn up, as: Nzema United, Samatex of Samreboi, Tarkwa United and Takoradi Sikaman.

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Golf - George wins Maersk invitational golf

Tema (Greater Accra), 28^th June 99 -

Ben George scored 40 points, beating J.S. Salkin on countback, to win this year's Maersk Invitational golf championship played at the Tema Country Golf course on Saturday.

S.D. Odame also defeated Kofi Okyere on countback to place third after they had scored 38 points each while D.D. Chikohora beat H.S. Jeon on countback to place fifth after they had scored 37 points apiece.

Florence Entwi-Barimah won the Ladies event with 34 points beating Ladies golfer of the year, Mona Captan on countback while Ama Morgan also won on countback against Florence Schram to place third after they had scored 32 points each.

Maersk Ghana Limited sponsored the one-day 18-hole stableford competition, opened to amateur golfers from Tema, Celebrity and Achimota Golf Clubs.

Mr Nicholas Kofi Arthur, Export Supervisor of Maersk Ghana Limited, presented prizes to deserving winners.

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Private sector urged to modernize sports administration

Accra (Greater Accra), 28^th June 99 -

Mr Justice Daniel F. Annan, Speaker of Parliament, on Friday said though government may continue to support sports development and promotion, the modern trend of sports management lies in the private sector.

"All over the world, private sector organisations provide and manage sports facilities, sports academies, sports consultancies and medical centres while government only provides and monitors policy framework for its development and promotion," he said.

Mr Annan said this in a speech read for him at the maiden Ghana Olympic Committee (GOC) Awards and Dinner dance held at the Banquet Hall, State House, to raise funds for Ghana's participation in the All Africa Games slated for South Africa in September and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

He said if sports development is to be accelerated and sustained in Ghana, there is the need to move it from total dependence on government to private sector initiatives.

"This is where the government and people should consider the GOC a very reliable partner in moving sports along modern trends".

Mr Annan noted that the GOC is one noble institution run by men of high social standing and the government must give it its full support to solicit for funds for the preparation and participation of sportsmen and women and also for sports programmes and projects.

"I am hopeful that the three billion cedis that the GOC has set itself to achieve from now till the Sydney Olympic Games in the year 2000 would be realisable," he said.

Professor Patrick Addy, a Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, commended the GOC for their immense contributions towards the Olympic movement in Ghana.

He said since the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland, Ghana has been committed to the Olympic Games and that the success achieved has contributed to national pride and unity.

Prof. Addy called on Ghanaians to use sports as a discipline for exhibiting loyalty and commitment to the nation by contributing towards the preparation and participation in the upcoming Games in order to attain honours for the country.

Mr B.T. Baba, President of the GOC, said Ghana's ability to participate in the Games requires massive financial support and gave the assurance that the funds accrued would be used judiciously.

Various Ghanaian sportsmen and women who have won gold medals at previous Olympic and Commonwealth Games were honoured.

They include Eddie Blay, Azumah Nelson, Ike Quartey Snr., Joe Darkey, Alice Anum, Sulley Shittu, Flash Emma, E,C.O. Addy, Raymond Narh, and others.

Companies including Nestle Ghana Limited, Ghana Breweries Limited, Akosombo Textiles Company and Graphic Corporation, which have supported sports development and promotion, were honoured.

As part of the programme, popular music star, Charles Kwadwo Fosu (Daddy Lumba), who has been nominated as a music ambassador of the GOC, performed alongside The Marriots International Band.

There was also a fashion show by Ecstasy Fashions while GOC souvenirs, clocks and T-shirts were on sale.

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