Sports
Premier League:Gold Stars FC storm to top; Kotoko smash Vison; Hearts of Lions shocked at home
Gold Stars FC stormed to the top of the Premier League with a sensational 3-0 win at Accra Lions on Sunday January 19, 2025.
The visitors were at their very best as they run riot against the struggling Premier League side to leapfrog Heart of Lions at the top of the table.
Samuel Attah Kumi bagged a remarkable hat-trick to hand the Miners their biggest away win of the season and their 9th in total so far this term. He scored in the 14th, 44th and 46th minute as the visitors recorded the heavy win at the WAF Park in Sogakope.
Kwame Opoku bagged a brace for Asante Kotoko as they thumped Vision FC 4-1 to move within touching distance of leaders Gold Stars FC.
Opoku opened the scoring as early as the 6th minute before Nana Akwesi Amoah pulled parity for the visitors in the 22nd minute.
Peter Amidu restored Kotoko’s lead with the second goal before Kwame Opoku added the third in the 37th minute. Saaka Dauda completed the rout with the fourth goal in the 44th minute.
Kotoko are now third with 31 points, just two adrift of leaders Bibiani Gold Stars FC. Vision FC lie 11th in the table with 19 points.
Defending champions FC Samartex 1996 drew goalless with Hearts of Oak at home on Sunday.
The two teams failed to break each other down as they shared the points at the Nsenkyire Arena.
Hearts have dropped to 5th while Samartex find themselves in mid-table.
Nations FC dented Heart of Lions’ Premier League title charge after recording a 1-0 win at the Kpando Stadium.
Di Boris Djangone scored the decisive goal in the 82nd minute to separate the two teams. This is Lions’ first defeat at home this season as they are leapfrogged at the top by Gold Stars FC.
Heart of Lions have slipped to fourth while Nations jump to second in the Premier League table.
Eric Osei Bonsu scored from the spot to give Nsoatreman FC a vital 1-0 win over Karela United at home on Sunday.
Osei Bonsu scored the decisive goal in the 52nd minute to give Yaw Preko’s side a respite after a turbulent 2024-25 campaign.
Karela United have dropped into the bottom three while Nsoatreman have jumped to 12th in the league table.
Berekum Chelsea left it late to record a 2-1 win over Medeama SC in a dramatic Premier League game on Sunday.
Stephen Amankona opened the scoring for the home side in the first half before Yussif Mubarik pulled parity for the visitors through the spot kick six minute into injury time.
However, captain Zackaria Fuseini stole the headlines when he scored the winner with the last kick of the ball.
Basake Holy Stars shared the spoils with Aduana FC in an entertaining 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Sunday.
The Fire Club went ahead in the first half before Bismark Teye pulled parity in the 86th minute at the Ampain AAK Arena.
Legon Cities thrashed Dreams FC 3-0 at home on Sunday to continue their push for survival.
Goals from Fredrick Akatuk, Frank Akoto and Kabu Agyemang Raymond condemned Dreams to their 7th defeat of the season.
The Royals remain in the bottom three while Dreams FC are just above the drop zone.
Bechem United continued their fine performances in the Premier League with a solid 0-0 stalemate at Young Apostles in the Bono derby on Sunday.
Sports
‘Black Stars not there yet’
After seeing Mali undone by Alexander Djiku’s second half strike to give Ghana a 1-0 victory over Mali on Monday in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Accra, Otto Addo gave his thoughts in the post-match press conference.
Below are excerpts.
On the game against Mali
You could see that we have a young squad and players who haven’t been playing often for the national team so far; that made them nervous. I think we got a good game.
We increased the pressure early in the second half, and managed to score out of a set piece. And then it was pure fight afterwards, especially the period after the goal.
On decision-making in the final third
I think if you have played before, you know that sometimes there’s a little bounce from the ball or the position is close and you think too much, I told them actually, but as a footballer, it’s normal that you try to look for a perfect solution.
Semenyo’s performance
He did really well, you know, it’s difficult to compare games from the Premier League with games in Africa and Ghana. It’s very, very difficult and then all games have their own nature and surely you can say that he stands more out in the Premier League, but for me today he was excellent, he fought until he couldn’t run anymore.
On Gideon Mensah
Well, I think sometimes he’s a little bit too confident and we had, especially after the Chad game, had some talks and for everyone who has played football on a higher level.
If he does it in La Liga, it’s fine because in La Liga, if you lose the ball to your opponent, he will counter-press you. He needs to simplify his game sometimes. Didn’t look too complicated, but it’s difficult sometimes if you’re coming from a different environment to switch your thinking.
On Kwasi Sibo’s performance
First of all, big congrats for him. I think he really did well. It’s not easy to come from a different environment to fit into the squad, but yeah, he knows a lot of players already in the team and he connected well. He’s very, very confident and I think he did extremely well, especially when you see that this was his first match. .
On Ghanaians being overly expectant
No, I think the expectations are normal. We are Ghana. For me, if everybody is talking before the Chad game that we already won and we are already taking the three points, it’s dangerous because if this gets to the heads of the fans, it’s a problem for me.
I’m warning everybody who think we have already gone to the World Cup to take things easy. It’s not like that. We have to give the same effort as today to beat Central African Republic. If we don’t do this, it’s a big problem. We have a lot of work to do. A lot of work. It’s going to be very, very difficult.
On goal scoring
You know, the last window, we scored eight goals. I think it was ok, but we can’t expect it all the time. So I hope that the players who missed the chances would score the next time. But it’s all about learning, improving and adapting always to the circumstances.
And I think in each situation, they could have taken one, two, three steps more or more time to look for the partner to have a better overview to give the right pass.
Sports
Black Queens Set to Face England Lionesses in International Friendly
The Black Queens will face the Lionesses of England in a high-profile international friendly on December 2,2025 per agreement between the Ghana Football Association (GFA) and the England Football Association.
After reaching the semi-finals at the 2024 WAFCON, the Black Queens are determined to build on that performance and establish themselves among the elite teams on the continent.
This match comes off as part of Ghana’s preparations for all international assignments, including the 2026 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
The fixture against England, one of the world’s top-ranked sides and reigning European champions, is expected to provide the Queens with a tough test that will sharpen the squad.
Head coach Kim Lars Björkegren will also seize the golden opportunity to measure the team’s progress, expose the players to world-class opposition, and correct areas that need improvement.
The Black Queens will head into the encounter motivated to put up a strong performance, not only to test their readiness but also to showcase the strides Ghana continues to make in women’s football on the international stage.
