Kotoko prevent press from covering match
ABC Premier League 11th week results: 19 - 05 – 2000
Koforidua (Eastern Region)
Koforidua-based Power F/C and King Faisal played an ill -tempered match at Koforidua, which saw a player from each side being sent off and the match itself settling to a 1-1 draw.
Power took the lead in the 65th minute when their midfielder Michael Donkor headed home a beautiful lob from the left flank by substitute Yaw Acheampong after a series of near misses.
King Faisal equalised in the 77th minute through Tanko Mohammed who took advantage of a goalmouth melee and shot into the net.
Earlier in the 44th minute the top striker of Power, Dennis Odoom was shown the red card when he tried to stop Faisal's goalkeeper, Nicholas Ware who was running towards referee P. K. Azizah to lodge a complain by pulling the collar of his jersey.
In the 48th minute, King Faisal's Adamu Moro Tigana was also shown the red card for a tackling from behind.
The game was almost marred in the 87th minute when Alhaji Grunsah, Chairman of King Faisal, charged onto the field to protest against what he saw as bad officiating against his side. It took security personnel some time to move him into the stands.
At Obuasi, a powerful header by skipper Princeton Owusu Ansah gave Obuasi Goldfields a hard fought one nil win over visiting Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in their 11th week ABC Premier League match played at the Len Clay Sports Stadium on Wednesday.
Determined to bring back the smiles to the faces of their supporters after drawing at home on Sunday, the miners mounted pressure on Dwarfs and managed to score the only goal of the match in the 15th minute through a corner kick.
The game became balanced with both sides recording near misses until the referee ended proceedings to the anguish of Dwarf's supporters.
At Asuom, sensational Kwaebibirem United pipped visiting Dawu Youngsters 2-1. All the goals were scored in the first half.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
Accra Hearts of maintained their unbeaten record in the 11-week old ABC league when they added visiting B. A. United to their "victims" with a 2-0 victory at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Joe Fameyeh netted the opener in the 25th minute and diminutive Charles Allotey sealed the doom of B. A. United in the 53rd minute.
The resilience exhibited by the visitors especially in midfield marshal, Ntow Gyan and another veteran Kasula Dacosta kept the swift Hearts attackers at bay until the 25th minute.
Fameyeh broke the silence when he finished off a three-man move between left winger Charles Taylor, Ishmael Addo and himself.
But what actually set the fans alive was Allotey's 53rd minute goal which was classic in every sense. He intercepted a pass from his skipper Jacob Nettey, outwitted his marker and sent a long volley into the roof of the net.
Bawa Mohammed of B. A United nearly pulled one back for his team but his brilliant long drive outside the penalty area, was expertly pushed to corner by goalkeeper Sam Adjei.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo)
Visiting Great Olympics held Tano Bofoakwa to a 1-1 drawn game at the Sunyani Coronation Park.
Playing a fast and compact game, Bofoakwa came close to scoring on several occasions in the first half but they wasted all the chances.
Bofoakwa however shot into the lead in the 64th minute when striker, Kwame Antwi let go a terrific drive which goalkeeper Bismark Nyarko had no answer to.
Olympics quickly brought in three fresh limbs in the persons of Michael Asante, Amui Quaye and Tahiru Braimah to augment their attack. The changes paid off when against the run of play enterprising Joe Louis, in a fast break sent in a cross for Quaye to equalise.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region)
Sportswriters in Kumasi were on Wednesday barred from covering the 11th week ABC Premier mid- week league match between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Real Tamale United (RTU) at the Kumasi Sports Stadium.
When members of the media got to the entrance of the stadium, armed policemen and agents of Kotoko prevented them from entering.
The security team said they had orders from "above" not to allow people holding Identity Cards, including sportswriters into the stadium. Sports Journalists who tried to explain their mission were rebuffed, threatened and refused entry.
Mr. Francis Kwateng, a Senior Editor of the Ghana News Agency, (GNA) expressed shock at the decision of the management of Kotoko since "the press in Kumasi has had meaningful co-operation with the club over the years."
Mr. Kwateng said the incident was the first he had encountered in his thirty-five years experience as a sportswriter.
In another development, the management of Asante Kotoko has written to the Graphic Corporation not to allow their staff to cover matches involving the team at the Kumasi Sports Stadium.
A letter signed by Mr. George Amoako, a Management member of the club, said the ban on Graphic followed a complaint made to the police by Mr. Boniface Ablekpe, Ashanti Regional Editor of the paper that he had been threatened by Mr.
Kennedy Agyepong, Vice Chairman of Kotoko.
The letter further said that Kotoko could not guarantee the safety of any member of staff of the Graphic Corporation who tried to cover any match involving the Porcupine Warriors.
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ABC Premier League 11th week
results: 19 - 05 - 2000
Asuom: Kwaebibirem 2 Dawu 1 Kumasi: Kotoko 2 RTU 0
Sunyani: Bofoakwa 1 Olympics 1 Sekondi: Hasaacas 1 Liberty 1
Tema : Ghapoha 5 Okwawu 3 Accra: Hearts 2 B A United 0
Koforidua: Power 1 K. Faisal 1 Obuasi: Goldfields 1 Dwarfs 0
Standings of the teams at the end of the 10th
week - 010 15 May 2000
Team Local/Region P W D L F A Pts GD
Hearts Accra, Gt. Accra 11 10 1 0 30 6 31 +24
Liberty Accra, Gt. Accra 11 6 2 3 14 10 20 +5
Goldfields Obuasi, Ashanti 11 6 2 3 12 8 20 +4
Ghapoha Tema, Gt. Accra 11 6 1 4 18 14 19 +4
Kotoko Kumasi, Ashanti 11 5 2 4 10 11 17 -1
Dwarfs Cape Coast, Central 11 5 2 4 12 12 15 0
Bofoakwa Sunyani, Brong Ahafo 11 4 2 5 11 12 15 -1
Hasaacas Sekondi, Western 11 4 1 6 12 14 14 -2
RTU Tamale, Northern 11 4 2 5 8 12 14 -4
Kwaebibirim Asuom, Eastern 11 4 2 5 14 20 14 -6
Power F/C Koforidua, Eastern 11 2 4 5 6 6 12 0
Okwawu Nkawkaw, Eastern 11 3 3 5 14 15 12 -1
King Faisal Kumasi, Ashanti 11 3 2 6 11 12 11 -1
Dawu Dawu, Eastern 11 1 5 5 11 16 8 -5
Olympics Accra, Gt. Accra 11 2 4 5 9 16 8 -7
B.A. United Sunyani, Brong Ahafo 11 1 4 6 8 17 7 -9
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