Soccer-Hearts pip Goldfields 1-0
The league table - Oly still on top
Soccer-Kotoko clash with All Blacks in SWAG Cup
Soccer-Hearts pip Goldfields 1-0
Accra (Greater Accra), 24th May '99 --
Accra Hearts of Oak, back from their successful continental assignment, put up a sky-high, spirited performance to pip a resurgent Obuasi Goldfields by a lone goal in their 14th week ABC premier league match played at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Substitute striker Osumanu Amadu fetched the only goal for the Phobians in the 53rd minute.
Both teams stormed the stadium in unusual jerseys - Hearts in red and yellow, and Goldfields in an all-green outfit. The miners took control moments after Hearts had kicked off and nearly unsettled the Phobians in the 10th and 37th minutes.
Nana Ahin Duah, who was blessed with the two glorious chances, lobbed the ball over the cross bar in the first instance and shot wide off-target in the 37th minute.
The only chance that came the way of Hearts was in the 25th minute when their lone striker, Joe Fameyeh, sneaked through the crack defence of the miners, but his tricky shot hit the hand of central defender Mike Ofori. This was ignored by Sunyani-based FIFA referee Emmanuel Bissi.
Osumanu Amadu, who came on for sluggish Desmond Amoah at the commencement of the second half, brought life into the Hearts attack with a one-two move with Fameyeh.
It was during one of such moves that he latched onto a through-ball by Fameyeh to lob it over onrushing lanky goalkeeper Mike Robertson in the 53rd minute.
Eight minutes later inside left Joe Okyere, in a solo move, went through the Hearts defence, but his left-footed shot missed the upright narrowly.
Hearts brought on Lukeman Olaya and Joe Ansah for Kenneth Sarpong and Edmund Copson in the 66th and 74th minutes, while Goldfields sent in Tony Arhinful and Camara Salifu for Mike Ofori and Joe Okyere in the 84th and 87th minutes. But the changes could not alter the score line.
MORE
Kumasi: King Faisal beat Bofoakwa Tano 1-0 in their match played at the Kumasi sports stadium on Sunday.
It was a spectacular victory for Faisal, who had to play with 10 men for over 28 minutes, when Accra-based class one referee E.M.A. Laryea red-carded their goalkeeper, Nicholas Opoku Ware for grabbing the ball outside the "18" after the defence had been over-run.
Referee Laryea did not hesitate to flash the red card as the action denied Bofoakwa an opportunity, which could have resulted in a goal.
Faisal quickly substituted reserve goalkeeper Sampson Appiah for centre forward George Eraino to man the posts in the 62nd minute.
Faisal, who were the first to kick-off, dictated the pace of the game, forcing three corner-kicks in the first six minutes during which Bofoakwa reeled under stabbing raids, but they could not score.
Bofoakwa failed to offer any resistance in the half which ended scoreless.
Faisal brought on speedster Joe Louis on resumption, and he added more power to their attack, as they forced the Bofoakwa defence to work over time.
Despite being reduced to 10 men in the 62nd minute, Faisal maintained their composure and scored the only goal in the 72nd minute through inside right J.B.Danquah.
Danquah pounced a loose ball and hit a powerful shot, as Bofoakwa goalkeeper Eric Amponsah dived in vain to his elastic limits to stop the ball.
Bofoakwa staged a last minute rally, piercing through the Faisal defence, but could not level up.
More../
Tema: Ghapoha Readers played a determined game to beat visiting Liberty Professionals 1-0 in their match played at the Tema Sports Stadium.
Liberty, after kick-off, lost control of the game and allowed the home team to dominate proceedings.
They maintained their dominance and succeeded in scoring the only goal in the 10th minute when inside left Adolf Mensah's low grounder beat goalkeeper Louis Quainoo.
Liberty accepted the challenge and nearly equalised in the 20th minute, but centre forward Kofi Deblah's beautiful shot was expertly saved by Ghapoha goalkeeper, Alfred Mills.
Back from recess, Ghapoha, who had substituted goalkeeper Mills with Vessou Kodjo in the 44th minute, pinned the visitors into their own half but all their efforts at goal were thwarted by the Liberty defence.
MORE
Tamale: At the Tamale Kaladan Park, Real Tamale United (RTU) put up their best performance this season when they outplayed and outscored visiting Accra Great Olympics 3-0.
RTU took a comfortable 2-0 lead in the first half, in which they had total dominance.
Olympics kicked off but lost control to RTU, who made several incursions into their opponents goal area. In one of such raids in the 21st minute, RTU's inside left Alhassan Shilla soared high to nod the ball from a corner-kick to register the first goal.
RTU took advantage of the breakdown of Olympics' midfield and increased the tempo of the game, forcing their opponents to retreat into defence.
In the 38th minute, centre forward Abass Iddrisu increased RTU's tally to two when he beat an offside trap and tapped the ball into the net.
The pattern of play did not change much after the break, as RTU took control of the midfield again, invading Olympics goal area at will. Poor finishing, however, denied them of another goal.
Hopes of Olympics coming back into the game were dashed, when RTU's play-maker, Stephen Oduro, set the stadium agog with a solo effort, dribbling past four Olympics players from midfield before firing a grounder past Mohammed Alhassan in the 80th minute.
RTU's game strategy worked to perfection as Olympics failed to find an antidote to it.
At Nkawkaw, Kumasi Asante Kotoko continued their late surge in the league with a 3 - 2 win over Okwahu United in match that saw tempers rising on both ends.
Kotoko scored through speedster Robert Boateng in the 15th and 32nd minutes with playmaket Baba Adams making it three in the 60th minute. Thomas Otinkorang and George Tutu scored for Okwahu.
GRi…/
The league table - Oly still on top
Accra (Greater Accra), 24th May '99 -
The following is the standings of the 16-club ABC Golden Lager Premier soccer league table after the 14th week matches played on Sunday.
P W D L F A Pts GD
Olympics 14 8 3 3 15 12 27
Hearts 12 7 3 2 23 10 24
Hasaacas 13 6 5 2 17 7 23
Kotoko 13 8 2 3 19 12 23
Goldfields 13 7 2 4 17 11 21
Dwarfs 13 6 3 4 17 15 21
Power 14 6 4 5 12 10 19
Liberty 14 6 1 7 12 13 19
RTU 14 5 3 6 20 18 18
Dawu 14 4 5 5 16 16 17
Okwawu 12 5 2 5 13 14 17
All Blacks 14 5 4 6 15 17 16
King Faisal 14 4 3 7 14 16 15
Ghapoha 14 3 6 5 9 18 15
Bofoakwa 14 4 1 9 10 19 13
Afienya 13 1 4 8 7 29 7
GRi…/
Soccer-Kotoko clash with All Blacks in SWAG Cup
Accra (Greater Accra), 24th May '99 --
Kumasi Asante Kotoko clash with Swedru All Blacks in this year' Sports Writers' Association of Ghana (SWAG) Cup match at the Kumasi Sports Stadium on Sunday, June six.
At stake is the H. P. Nyemtei cup.
A Statement issued in Accra on Sunday and signed by the Association's president Mr Joe Aggrey, said the Ghana Football Association has duly sanctioned the match.
All Blacks, who came in as last-minute substitutes in the last year's match, pipped Kotoko by a lone goal to become first recipients of the prestigious cup.
The Statement said Kotoko newly-appointed Board Chairman, Mr Herbert Mensah has declared that "there is no way the cup will leave Oseikrom" and has urged the fans to turn out in their numbers to cheer Kotoko to victory.
In a related development, the SWAG Awards Night, which was originally scheduled for Saturday, May 29, has been postponed.
A new date will be announced later.
GRi…/