Sports
Avoid another Bochum disaster
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GERMANY holds an impressive and dominant head-to-head record over Ghana in association football. Both countries have clashed on three occasions at the highest level of football—twice at the FIFA World Cup and once, an international friendly.
At the World Cup, the Germans defeated the Black Stars 1-0 at the African World Cup (South Africa 2010) and drew 2-2 at the same platform four years later in Brazil.
The outcome of the April 14, 1993 international friendly was one Ghanaians would not want to be reminded about. With some of the finest performers on the continent of Africa donning the Ghana jersey, the Germans walloped the Black Stars 6-1 to record what was christened the infamous ‘Bochum disaster.’ Despite leading at halftime with a Prince Polley goal assisted by Abedi Pele, Ghana conceded six second-half goals in 27 minutes.
This is a country that prides itself as four-time world champions (1954, 1974, 1990, and 2014) from a total of eight finals, three gold medals in UEFA European Championship (1972, 1980, 1996), one Olympic title (1976) and a FIFA Confederations Cup (2017). A friendly with the Germans is more of a privilege and they have a reason why; but it should be an opportunity Ghana must grab with both hands to attempt to exorcise the Bochum ghost or find a way to grind the German machine.
It is the reason Ghanaians had high expectation for Otto Addo’s squad for the two friendlies against Austria in Vienna on March 27 before travelling to Stuttgart to face Germany on March 30.
As a friendly, one understands the need to try new players with a focus on identifying new and effective talents to strengthen the team for the World Cup proper. But it is clear that injuries to Kudus Mohammed, Francis Abu and Salisu Mohammed coupled with the poor form of quite a number of players could throw a spanner into Otto Addo’s wheels.
He has handed debut call-ups to four players – Derrick Luckassen of Pafos FC in Cyprus, Patrick Pfeiffer from German Bundesliga II side Darmstadt 98, Marvin Senaya of AJ Auxerre, and Daniel Agyei from Turkish club Kocaelispor – for this month’s international friendlies.
The 26-man squad also marked the return of Iñaki Williams, Ibrahim Sulemana, Alexander Djiku and Thomas Partey who has had little playing time with Villarreal and facing a few issues in court.
It doesn’t look like any promising squad capable of producing the results Ghanaian fans would hope to have. The excuse would obviously be that it was just an exercise to fine-tune but even if the Black Stars were to lose to the Germans who are also struggling for form, it should not be worse than the Bochum disaster.
Full squad:
Goalkeepers: Lawrence Ati-Zigi (St. Gallen), Benjamin Asare (Accra Hearts of Oak), Joseph Anang (St. Patrick’s Athletic).
Defenders: Patrick Pfeiffer (SV Darmstadt), Derrick Luckassen (Pafos FC), Derrick Kohn (Union Berlin), Jerome Opoku (Istanbul Basaksehir), Caleb Yirenkyi (FC Nordsjaelland), Kojo Oppoong Pepprah (OGC Nice), Jonas Adjetey (VFL Wolfsburg), Marvin Senaya (Auxerre), Alexander Djiku (Spartak Moscow), Gideon Mensah (Auxerre).
Midfielders: Thomas Partey (Villarreal), Elisha Owusu (Auxerre), Ibrahim Sulemana (Cagliari), Kwasi Sibo (Real Oviedo).
Forwards/Wingers: Brandon Thomas Asante (Coventry City), Jordan Ayew (Leicester City), Prince Adu (Viktoria Plzen), Christopher Bonsu Baah (Al Qadsiah), Abdul Fatawu Issahaku (Leicester City), Inaki Williams (Atletic Bilbao), Antoine Semenyo (Manchester City), Kamal Deen Sulemana (Atalanta), Daniel Agyei (Kocaelispor).
By Andrew Nortey
If there is a club Kumasi Asante Kotoko would want to avoid, definitely it would be Kpando Heart of Lions, and not Hearts of Oak.
Kotoko and Hearts have sold to soccer fans some of the electrifying football atmosphere to underline their age-long rivalry.
Despite their stature in Ghana football, however, the lions from Kpando have been the most difficult and toughest opponents for the Porcupine Warriors.
Clashes between Kotoko and Hearts have produced mixed outcomes. It remains one of the few games which outcomes can be very challenging to predict.
But the story with Heart of Lions is straightforward. It hands them the dominance card over Kotoko; making them favourites most of the time when they are paired together.
Tomorrow at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium, the Porcupine Warriors would slug it out in their Matchday 2 encounter of the Ghana Premier League (GPL) with Heart of Lions.
Asante Kotoko and Heart of Lions have faced each other in 12 recorded official head-to-head matches, with Heart of Lions holding the upper hand.
They boast six wins, and two for Asante Kotoko, with the rest of the four ending in draws.
As recent as the last three years, Kotoko has been winless in their last six games, registering three draws with the Lions winning three.
This clearly suggests that the Porcupine Warriors would be engaged in another battle of their lives when they welcome Heart of Lions to the Baba Yara Stadium, a venue that has proven to be a comfortable hunting ground for the visitors.
Coming from a 1-1 draw against Debibi United on Matchday 1 and a Democracy Cup victory over Hearts of Oak, Kotoko must be ready to clip the claws of the deadly Lions if they hope to tame them to halt that trend.
The Bibiani Dun’s Park is also expected to be full of fireworks as GoldStars welcome Hearts of Oak.
It will be one that will draw the fans in the area as both sides prepare the game with different agenda. While Hearts emerged 4-0 conquerors of Berekum Chelsea in Accra, GoldStars suffered a 1-0 loss to Bechem United.
The quest to consolidate the week one gains or to bounce back from defeat would conspire to make the game a mouthwatering one.
Swedru All Blacks would also engage Debibi United at the Swedru Stadium while Berekum Chelsea lock horns with Dreams FC at the Golden City Park and Karela against Bechem United.
At the Aliu Mahama Stadium, Karela United will face Bechem United; Young Apostles versus Basake Holy Stars at the Wenchi Stadium while Aduana FC take on Sarmatex.
The round will commence today with a fierce tie between FC Ashantigold versus Vision FC.
By Andrew Nortey
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When the Greater Accra Region emerged winners of the 35th Inter-Regional Basic Schools Netball Competition at the University of Ghana, Legon, one name stood out above the celebrations: Miss Lilly Akutu Zotorvie, a young shooter from the rural community of Mangoase in the Ada West District.
The Junior High School student of Englishie-Kenya D/A Basic School was the tournament’s standout scorer, netting an astonishing 132 goals in five matches for Team Greater Accra.
That translates into an average of 26.4 goals per match, a remarkable scoring record that has attracted attention from spectators and netball enthusiasts at the competition.
For Miss Zotorvie, however, the impressive statistics tell only part of the story; behind the goals is the journey of a young girl from Mangoase, a community outside Ghana’s major sporting centres, whose talent was discovered at a local netball clinic and gradually nurtured into the regional school competition.
She was reportedly spotted by Mr Ebenezer Kisseh, a journalist and coach, who recognised her potential during a netball clinic.
What could have remained an ordinary community sporting activity instead became the beginning of a promising journey for the young player.
Her performance subsequently earned her an opportunity to compete in the Greater Accra Super Zonal Games, where she impressed enough to progress to the regional level.
At the 35th Inter-Regional Basic Schools Netball Competition, she converted that opportunity into an outstanding individual performance, combining precision, consistency and confidence in front of the post.
Her exploits have also brought renewed attention to the pool of sporting talent that exists in communities far from Ghana’s traditional sporting centres.
For a young player from Mangoase, the progression from a local netball clinic to representing Greater Accra at an inter-regional competition demonstrates the importance of early talent identification and sustained opportunities for development.
Miss Zutorvie’s emergence also presents a reminder that some of Ghana’s promising sporting talents might be found in schools and communities where access to structured training and competitive opportunities remains limited.
Now, after scoring 132 goals in five matches and helping Greater Accra claim the inter-regional title, the young shooter has given coaches, sports administrators and talent scouts another reason to look beyond the country’s major sporting centres.
As Greater Accra celebrates its victory, her performance is likely to remain one of the most memorable individual highlights of the competition – and perhaps the beginning of a much bigger sporting journey for the Ada youngster. -GNA
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