Mohammed wins Route d'Accra race
Standings of the Star Premier league
Accra (Greater Accra Region) 29 October 2001 - Ishmael Addo scored a hat trick to push his season's tally to 20 and send Accra Hearts of Oak 10 points clear on top of the league table in a 3-1 thrashing of Obuasi Adansiman at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday 28 October 2001.
Hearts are now up with 58 points while their closest challengers, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, remain on 48 as they lost 0-1 in a local derby to King Faisal.
Ishmael struck first in the 41st minute when he finished off a pass from Charles Taylor who had waltzed his way through Adansiman defenders.
He scored the second goal, four minutes into the second half when he powered a header into the net after Don Bortey had made a great run from the right and provided him with an incisive pass.
Then in the 80th minute, the defending goal king consolidated Hearts’ lead with a right-footed shot from the six-yard box.
Adansiman got their consolation through Hope Leveh, who thumped in from close range in injury time. The visitors had referee Gyan Otoo turning down what appeared to be a genuine penalty appeal in the 79th minute, when one of their attackers was upended in the penalty area by Hearts right back Dan Oppong.
Hearts dominated play but missed over a dozen scoring chances, particularly in the early stages of the game as Emmanuel Osei Kuffour fluffed a fine opportunity when Bortey provided him with a great pass, 40 seconds into the game.
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Nkawkaw (Greater Accra Region) 29 October 2001 - Okwawu United failed to make use of their home advantage when they played a barren draw with Kwaebibirem at the Nkawkaw Park.
The best chance of the match fell to the homers in the 56th minute when Accra based class one referee P. S. Okai awarded them a penalty after centre forward man, Nii Larbi Darko was decked illegally in the penalty box.
Kwaebibirem’s goalkeeper Theodore Atsu made mince meat of Yaw Berko's kick to tie the game and improve his side's escape from the relegation zone.
Though Okwawu had more possession of the ball, they failed to score and this prompted their own supporters to pelt their officials and the bench with missiles, alleging that both sides had agreed to play a ‘compromising match’.
Kwaebibirem had a good chance to go ahead in the 38th minute when their front men Nuhu Mohammed, Samuel Opoku and Martin Appah combined beautifully and sneaked through Okwawu's rear, but the final delivery was poor, leaving the Homers off the hook. According to spectators, the match was drab and boring as the two sides failed to show much commitment.
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Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 29 October 2001 - King Faisal who are fighting desperately to avoid relegation, put up a spirited performance to beat Kumasi Asante Kotoko 1-0 in their encounter at the Kumasi Sports stadium on Sunday 28 October 2001.
Substitute Frank Osei connected Isaac Debrah's rebound in the 71st minute to give his side the much-needed win. Kotoko entered the field in an unusual jersey quite different from their traditional colour of red for which they are known. They had on a combination of light green and black for the top, and black trunks with green and white hoses.
Faisal, determined to carry the day, gradually warmed their way into the game and earned an 11th minute corner-kick, which was wasted.
Kotoko came into the picture again and in the 15th minute, the greatest of chances fell to Joe Okyere when Shilla Alhassan sent him on with an intelligent pass, but to the shock of Kotoko fans, he messed up.
Kotoko then pulled out Felix Yeboah who found the going very tough, for Kwaku Duah in the 22nd minute. Micheal Osei, operating from the right, sent in a long lob, which beat Faisal's goalkeeper Samuel Okyere but the defence managed to clear the ball.
Faisal replaced Francis Darko with Joe Agyemang Jnr in the 39th minute but it was Kotoko who still looked threatening as Shilla Alhassan hit the side post in the 54th minute having beaten an offside trap.
A minute later, veteran Emmanuel Ampiah of Faisal was booked for rough play, and Yaw Acheampong gave way to Frank Osei in the 56th minute only to receive the yellow card eight minutes later for dissent.
Kotoko again pulled out Joe Okyere for Nana Frimpong in the 70th minute in a bid to put more bite into their attack but it was Faisal who were to snatch the lead a minute later when Frank Osei connected home Debrah's rebound for the only goal of the match.
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Obuasi (Greater Accra Region) 29 October 2001 - Goldfields on Sunday 28 October 2001, put the points-reduction shock behind them to thrash Accra Great Olympics 2-0 in their Star Premier League match at the Len Clay Stadium.
Goldfields opened the scoring in the 20th minute when Nana Arhin Duah completed a clinical two-man move between Princeton Owusu Ansah and Moses Mensah. From then, the miners took absolute control of the game wasting two corner kicks before halftime.
Olympics brought on Isaac Amponsah for Barnes Fatau on resumption of the second half but it was the miners who kept dictating the pace of the game earning a corner-kick in the 56th minute.
Olympics’ moment of glory chanced in the 60th minute but goalkeeper Rachid Compaore deprived them of the needed equaliser as he dived to save a point blank header from Eric Boakye.
Olympics replaced David Sarkodie with David Amoako but just as he came into contact with the ball in the 70th minute, he was red carded for stamping Goldfields Kenneth Ababio.
Both teams made some changes but it was Goldfields who had the upper hand as Amoah Fosu ‘Tico’ cut deep into the visitor’s vital area and gave a pass to Isaac Boakye to head home the second goal.
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Tamale (Northern Region) 29 October 2001 - Real Tamale United (RTU) moved away from the relegation zone when they beat visiting Arsenal by two goals to nil at the Tamale Kaledan Park.
The game started on a fast note and in the seventh minute RTU who were slightly on top, had earned a penalty, which was wasted by Joseph Adjei when his shot hit the cross bar.
RTU kept mounting pressure on the visitors and scored in the 26th minute; inside right Gilbert Ayekade dummied Isaac Toga in goal for Arsenal before scoring. Joseph Adjei atoned for his penalty miss to score in the 45th minute after beating an outside trap.
The second half was a ding-dong affair with Arsenal slightly ahead but found RTU's defence, which was centred on veteran Abdul Rahman Bobby, very difficult to break.
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 29 October 2001 - Tema Ghapoha staged a dramatic comeback in the dying minutes of their 25th week Star Premier league match to beat Sekondi Hasaacas 2-1 at the Accra Sports Stadium on Friday 26 October 2001.
Hasaacas who had drawn away to second place Kumasi Asante Kotoko and beaten defending champions and league leaders Accra Hearts of Oak in the 23rd and 24th week fixtures respectively, shot into the lead in the 56th minute when right winger Ebo Mensah rammed in a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area.
The goal boosted the egos of the Sekondi lads as they pressed forward confidently looking for the second, which eluded them due to complacency on the part of their attackers Frank Turkson, Issah Mohammed and Stephen Sekyere and the spectacular skills of goalkeeper Abukari Kankani.
Ghapoha soon recovered and throttled harder, pinning their guests to their own half of the field under a long spell without getting rewards.
Centre forward Amui Quaye was a pale shadow of himself as he fluffed chance after chance in quick succession. With four minutes remaining, the game took a dramatic turn as Hasaacas goalkeeper George Owu had to struggle to parry a close shot from Sam Hanson over the top and soon at the other side, Kankani had to struggle with a long range effort from Paul Mensah.
Close to the 88th minute, Ghapoha mounted another onslaught from the right flank, generating a melee in the goal area of Hasaacas. Amui Quaye produced a moment of magic as he squeeze the ball into the net for the equaliser.
As the electronic scoreboard struck 90 minutes, Sam Hanson fired a canon, which zapped the entire Hasaacas defence, including keeper Owu and sailed into the right corner of the net for the match winner: 2-1 in their favour.
With this result Ghapoha who spent a long time at the bottom of the table in the first round have drifted safely away from the drop and are now in mid-table while Hasaacas remain at the fourth position.
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 29 October 2001 - Liberty Professionals of Dansoman moved further away from the relegation zone when they beat third placed Dawu Youngsters by two goals to nil in their 25th week Star Premier League match at the Accra Sports Stadium on Saturday 27 October 2001.
The first half of the match was dominated by Liberty but they failed to make incursions and created many chances and though they came close to scoring on the few occasions, they were either whitewashed by central defender Malik Garba or humbled by goalkeeper Mohammed Sumaila.
With ten minutes of normal time remaining in the first half, centre forward Ablade Morga struck to put Liberty on a victory trail before the break
Two minutes into the second half, sleek playing David Boateng made it a pair for Liberty when he tapped in a gift pass from keeper Sumaila.
Dawu then went forward, looking for a goal but Prince Adu Poku, the former Asante Kotoko skipper who was the pivot of their attack was heavily policed while his colleagues in the frontline failed to make hay though the sun shone, until Keta based referee Eben Adega ended proceedings.
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Accra 29 October 2001 - Adnan Mohammed clocked seven minutes 12.66 seconds to win the eighth annual La Route d'Accra Cycling race held in Accra on Saturday 27 October 2001.
Emmanuel Teye Wayo, who was timed seven minutes, 15.44seconds, took the second position while the third, fourth and fifth places went to Henry Dzangmah, Joseph Annan and Emmanuel Kudjo respectively.
River Park Cycling Club won the team time trial with a finishing time of seven minutes, 14.81 seconds; All Stars placed second with a time of seven minutes, 19.72 seconds; Gutting came third, City Micro was fourth while Fire Bunch placed fifth.
About 54 cyclists took part in the one-day competition, which was sponsored by Ghana France Co-operation and the National Sports Council, with support from Wonder Foods Limited and Pens and Plastics Limited.
Brigadier George Brock, Chief Executive of the National Sports Council (NSC), said cycling, which used to be the means of transportation for most people is now a competitive sport.
He commended the French Embassy for their contribution to the development of the sport in Ghana. Brig. Brock appealed to the Embassy to extend the competition to the other parts of the country to make it a national event.
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One-week Sports Leadership course ends.
Takoradi (Western Region) 29 October 2001 - Mr. Joe Kwarteng, Treasurer of the Ghana Olympic Committee, on Friday 26 October 2001, called on sports managers and administrators to make use of their leadership qualities to raise the standard of sports in the country.
He made the call during the closing ceremony of a one-week course for25 sports managers and administrators organised by the Ghana Olympic Committee in Takoradi.
The participants were drawn from the security services, Ghana Education Service and the National Sports Council (NSC). Mr. Kwarteng said the qualities, which sports leaders require to enhance their work include integrity, sense of judgment, courage, tact, motivation and self-confidence.
He said it is the wish of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to run leadership courses to upgrade the knowledge of sports leaders to enable to them carry out their duties in their areas of responsibility.
Mr.. Kwarteng said such courses, which have been limited to Accra and Tamale, would now be organised in the other parts of the country. Certificates were presented to the participants.
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 29 October 2001 - Galley Kudjo, a contender of the vacant national boxing flyweight title, said he would stop Asamoah Wilson, the top contender, in round six if he is given the opportunity to fight him again.
According to Galley, his loss to Asamoah in a previous fight was as a result of a wrist injury he carried into the ring. He said he has now fully recovered and wants to challenge Asamoah in a title fight.
“I shall stop him in round six, I promise you, so if he is not a coward, let him accept to fight me and I shall prove to the whole world that his victory over me was a fluke”.
He said he took the injury into the fight because he did not want to disappoint the promoter as fights are not easy to come by and he would not like to be black listed.
Mr Teiko Tagoe, Kudjo’s trainer described him as a potential world champion. “He is disciplined and his southpaw stance, coupled with his determination and hard work put him ahead of others in the division. He is a great warrior and that was the only reason why he fought Asamoah with an injury when we had advised him to back out of the fight”.
He called on wealthy boxing enthusiasts to come forward and manage Galley assuring that it would be a very good investment as the odds tilt heavily in his favour to become a world champion in the not too distant future.
“Galley needs a manager. Let somebody come forward and manage him and that person will definitely reap the dividend of his investment very soon. He is a champion in the making,” he added.
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The management of Obuasi Goldfields has expressed displesasure about certain publications and pronouncements in the press that it describes as calculated attempts to tarnish the reputation of the club.
A statement issued and signed by Mr Zonderland, Managing Director of the club, described publications about the Appeals Committee’s decision and their subsequent lost of about 12 points as “irresponsible, below the belt and does not meet international standards”.
According to the statement, reports in a national newspaper indicate that the paper did not even attempt to cross check the truth of their story with either the club or the committee to give both sides the chance oto state their cases.
This king of publication, the statement dsaid does not onmly damage the image of the club, but undermines the results of the legal arguments before panel of adjudicators and negatively impacts on Ghana football in general.
Goldfields has therefore warned that it would not hesitate to seek redress in court in similar future in the future. – Ghanaian Times
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 29 October 2001 - Results of the Star Premier League matches at the weekend are as follows:
Accra (Greater Accra Region): Hearts Three (3) Adansiman One (1)
Kumasi (Ashanti Region): Kotoko Zero (0) King Faisal One (1)
Obuasi (Ashanti Region): Goldfields Two (2) Olympics Nil (0)
Tamale (Northern Region): Real Tamale United (RTU) zero (0) Arsenals zero (0)
Accra (Greater Accra Region):Liberty Two (2) Dawu Nil (0)
Nkawkaw (Eastern Region): Okwawu Nil (0) Kwaebibirem Nil (0)
Tema (Greater Accra Region): GHAPOHA Two (2) Hasaacas One (1)
Koforidua (Eastern Region): Maxbees Three (3) Bofoakwa Two (2)
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Accra (Greater Accra Region) 29October 2001 - The table after matches played at all league centres on Sunday 28 October 2001. The table is tabulated under number of matches played, won, drawn, lost, with goals for and against.
Home Away
Hearts 13 13 0 0 35 6 12 5 4 3 13 10 58 +32
Kotoko 13 10 1 2 21 5 12 6 2 3 17 7 48 +26
Dawu 12 8 1 3 20 9 13 3 2 8 11 21 36 +2
Bofoakwa 13 9 4 0 22 6 12 0 4 8 5 18 35 +3
Hasaacas 13 9 2 2 16 8 12 1 3 8 11 20 35 -1
Okwawuä 13 6 3 4 17 10 12 3 4 5 13 6 34 +5
Arsenals 12 8 3 1 13 5 13 2 1 10 6 26 34 -3
Liberty 12 5 3 4 17 11 13 3 4 6 11 16 31 +1
Ghapoha 13 7 4 2 17 6 12 1 3 8 3 11 31 -1
Olympics 12 5 3 4 16 11 13 2 6 5 7 11 30 +1
RTU 12 9 3 0 17 3 13 1 2 10 6 22 29 -2
King Faisal 12 5 5 1 13 3 13 2 2 9 4 16 29 -5
Kwaebibirem 13 7 3 3 16 11 12 1 1 10 2 15 28 -8
Maxbees 12 7 3 3 18 14 13 1 1 11 8 35 28 -23
Goldfieldsä 13 8 2 3 20 9 12 3 1 8 8 15 27 +8
Adansiman 12 5 3 4 13 14 13 2 2 9 14 24 26 -11
ä Affected by Ghana Football Association (GFA) Appeals Committee’s decision. – Daily Graphic
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