ABC Premier League 12th week results
Accra (Greater Accra) 24 May 2000
Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah, the two football greats expected to lead Ghana to qualify for the 2002 Japan -Korea World Cup have turned down an invitation from the Ghana Football Association to rejoin the senior national team, the Black Stars, reports the Africa Sports weekly paper.
The paper quotes a BBC source as saying that former skipper, Abedi, rejected the approach used by the Ghana Football Association to recall him from retirement to don the nation’s colours one more time.
Abedi did not indicate the approach that he would have preferred but he is reported to have also told the BBC that he is presently engaged in other important things, which make worthy his retirement.
“I have other important things to do now and I’m enjoying my retirement”, the former skipper was quoted to have said.
German based F/C Hamburg leading striker, Tony Yeboah, is reported to have told the Africa Sports in a telephone interview that his mood at the moment places him out of the Stars.
“I simply do not think I’m in the right physical and mental shape to re-launch my career with the Black Stars”, says Yeboah to the Africa Sports.
Alhaji MND Jawula, Chairman of the Ghana Football Association on Thursday announced that the two players have been recalled into the Black Stars to beef up the squad that would play in the World Cup qualifying series en-route to the next finals.
The GFA said Germany based Gerald Asamoah and Swiss based Charles Amoah have also been invited.
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Accra (Greater Accra)
Sensational Liberty Professionals put up a spirited second half performance to thrash Tema Ghapoha F/C 3-0 to pick the three points at stake in their ABC Premier League match played at the Accra Sports Stadium.
It was Liberty’s Daniel Babayara, who destroyed the harbour boys, guaranteeing Liberty Professionals the three points as he registered a hat trick to sink the Tema boys.
Ghapoha played well in the first half and could have taken the lead in the 26th minute but Liberty's Louis Quainoo dived full length to deny forward player Mensah Pomeyie a goal.
In the second half, Liberty’s Ablade Morgan broke loose on the right flank and centred for Babayara to lift the ball over advancing Alfred Mills in Ghapoha’s post.
In the 78th minute Morgan again dashed to the right and crossed a beautiful for Babayara to head in his second goal.
The second goal took the sail out of the wind of Ghapoha, opening the way for Babayara to get a hat trick when he trapped a cross in the box and intelligently volleyed it over Alfred Mills.
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Olympics triumph over Hasaacas
Accra (Greater Accra)
A 29th-minute goal by "tormentor-in-chief", Joe Louis against visiting Sekondi Hasaacas, gave Accra Great Olympics their third victory in their ABC Premier League match played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
After a string of loses at the start of the 16-club league, Great Olympics are beginning to live up to their accolade as the Wonder club of the Ghana.
Louis, who played a great game, hit the woodworks in the first minute but atoned for his earlier, miss with a superb 29th minute strike into the roof of the net. He latched onto a pass from the right wing, raced with the ball into the penalty area, and dummied goalkeeper Owusu Banahene, before shooting into the net to register the only goal of the match.
Top marksman Wisdom Abbey, wasted a chance to increase the tally for the homesters when he fired off target after collecting a pass from Billy Suley.
Hasaacas' lone striker, Issa Mohammed, nearly equalised for his side but after intercepting a lob from veteran Kofi Abbrey, he shot into the waiting hands of Oly's newfound goalie Leonard Moffat in the 53rd minute. Both sides tried hard to increase their tally but neither could find the net until full time.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region)
Kumasi King Faisal ended their chain of defeats at home when they beat Obuasi Goldfields 2-1 at the Kumasi sports stadium on Sunday, courtesy: two goals by striker, Nana Frimpong.
A good shot by Goldfields’ Isaac Boakye in the 28th minute was punched to safety by Faisal’s goalkeeper Nicholas Opoku Ware and Nana Arhin Duah wasted an obvious chance as he shot over the bar a minute later.
The miners dominated the exchanges and capped it with the opener by Aminu Musah who rounded the defence of Faisal and shot powerfully into the net in the 56th minute. Substitute Ben Wilson and Eric Gawu brought some bite into the monarch’s game. Nana Frimpong fetched the equaliser from a low drive in the 68th minute and scored again from a free-kick outside the "18" with a curling shot in the 82nd minute to win the day for his side.
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Sunyani (Brong Ahafo)
A beautiful strike in the 27th minute by Issifu Fofana enabled B.A. United to pip visiting Power F.C. by a lone goal in their match played at the Sunyani Coronation Park.
After receiving a pass from the left flank, Fofana unleashed a powerful shot from about 30-metres to beat Power's agile goalkeeper Emmanuel Doe and send the partisan spectators into wild jubilation.
The homesters continued their dominance in the first half and could have increased the tally but the defence of Power, pivoted around veteran Jonas Akoli, gallantly held their strikers at bay.
The second half saw the visitors a transformed side and the nearly got the equaliser in the 46th minute through a free kick, perfectly taken by David Amoako, but United's keeper Ransford Kudjo, rose to the occasion by tipping the ball over the bar.
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(Tamale (Northern Region)
Visiting Kwaebibirem United played a good game but failed to stop the "home might" of Real Tamale United (RTU) when they lost 2-0 in their match played at the Tamale Kaladan Stadium.
RTU started the game on a fast note and a well-taken cornerkick from the right flank saw overlapping left-half-back Hamza Mohammed, connecting with a low grounder to open the scores for RTU's in the 10th minute.
Kwaebibirem accepted the challenge but were unlucky to get an equaliser when in the 15th minute, a goal-bound shot beat Mohammed Suraji in goal for RTU and surprisingly hit the upright.
Both teams made two changes each, and the visitors who played an improved game, managed to seize the midfield but could not finish off the chances that came their way.
RTU determined to carry the day pushed more men up front and inside left Abass Iddrisu in one of his dangerous moves was fouled in the box for a penalty, which was expertly converted by midfielder Ibrahim Musah to register RTU's second goal in the 60th minute.
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Dawu (Eastern Region)
Dawu Youngsters beat visiting Tano Bofoakwa 1-0 in their match played at Dawu. The home team took the lead in the 42nd minute through outside right Abdulai Tahiru, after a heavy down pour.
The Bofoakwa boys, who played a good game, took control of the midfield but failed to make any serious attempt at goal scoring. Dawu could have increased the tally but their attackers lacked aggression up front and wasted the many scoring chances that cam their way.
The most guilty of the attackers was Samuel Tetteh playing at inside right who messed up good scoring chances in the 56th, 74th and 82nd minutes.
In other matches, Accra Hearts of Oak clinched a lone goal victory over Okwawu United at Nkawkaw while Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Cape Coast Dwarfs fought to a 1-1 draw at the Cape Coast sports council park.
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ABC Premier League 12th week
results – 24 – 05 - 2000
Sunyani: B.A United 1 Power 0 Nkawkaw: Okwawu 0 Hearts 1
Accra: Olympics 1 Hasaacas 0 Dawu: Dawu 1 Bofoakwa 0
Tamale: RTU 2 Kwaebibirem 0 Kumasi: K. Faisal 2 Goldfields 1
C. Coast: Dwarfs 1 Kotoko 1 Accra: Liberty 3 Ghapoha 0
Standings of the teams at the end of the 12th
week - 012 24 May 2000
Team Local/Region P W D L F A Pts GD
Hearts Accra, Gt. Accra 12 11 1 0 31 6 34 +25
Liberty Accra, Gt. Accra 12 7 2 3 17 10 23 +8
Goldfields Obuasi, Ashanti 12 6 2 4 13 9 20 +4
Ghapoha Tema, Gt. Accra 12 6 1 5 18 17 19 +1
Kotoko Kumasi, Ashanti 12 5 2 5 11 11 18 -1
RTU Tamale, Northern 12 5 2 5 10 12 17 -2
Dwarfs Cape Coast, Central 12 4 4 4 13 13 16 0
King Faisal Kumasi, Ashanti 12 4 3 5 13 13 15 0
Bofoakwa Sunyani, Brong Ahafo 12 4 2 6 11 13 15 -2
Hasaacas Sekondi, Western 12 4 1 7 12 15 14 -3
Kwaebibirim Asuom, Eastern 12 4 2 6 14 24 14 -8
Power F/C Koforidua, Eastern 12 2 4 6 6 7 12 -1
Okwawu Nkawkaw, Eastern 12 3 3 6 14 16 12 -2
Dawu Dawu, Eastern 12 2 5 5 12 16 11 -4
Olympics Accra, Gt. Accra 12 3 4 5 10 16 11 -6
B.A. United Sunyani, Brong Ahafo 12 2 4 6 9 17 10 -8
(Nb. Three points were deducted from Olympics accumulated points for failing to honour their match against King Faisal).