Sports
Battle for title, relegation takes centre stage
• Sampson Eduku – Tamale City
six more games left to climax the 2022/23 betPawa Premier League, this weekend promises another round of mouth-watering clashes as chase for the title remains competitively open.
Though leaders Aduana Stars occupy the apex with
50 points, it is not done and dusted for them yet as they are closely followed (as of Wednesday night) by Medeama SC (47), Bechem United (45) and Berekum Chelsea (43) heading into the weekend’s cagey games.
Badly bruised Hearts of Oak will host King Faisal on match-day 29 at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday after their 4-1 loss to Tamale City, while reigning champions Asante Kotoko welcome in-form Tamale City to the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.
The Phobians have been shot twice in their last two meetings, a 1-0 defeat to Bechem United before their recent 4-1 mauling by City in mid-week.
Though Hearts occupy the fifth spot on the league with 42 points, a win over the ‘Insha’ Allah boys will close the gap on Aduana with 50 points.
Also, the Phobians were held to a pulsating 0-0 stalemate with the Kumasi-based side in the first round, eager to return to winning ways.
With two wins and a draw in their last three encounters, Tamale City will be aiming to continue their fine form when they come up against Kotoko.
Both sides shared the spoils from a 1-1 draw in the first round when Isaah Nyaabila poked in an own goal before Ibrahim Babamu scored to level matters.
Having lost 2-1 to Aduana Stars prior to this game, the Porcupine Warriors will leave no stone unturned as they are charged to give the visitors a good run for their money.
At the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park tomorrow, Bechem United will lock horns with Samartex in a cracking encounter, while struggling Accra Great Olympics will make a trip to the Dun’s Park against Gold Stars same day.
In Dawu, Dreams FC will play as hosts of Legon Cities, while relegation-threatened Karela United square off with Berekum Chelsea at the Crosby Awuah Memorial Park.
Relegated Kotoku Royals will battle it out with Aduana Stars, while the Nana Kronmansah Park in Nsoatre will host Nsoatreman and Medeama SC.
As many as six clubs including RTU (36), King Faisal (36), Tamale City (35), Dreams FC (34), Nsoatreman (34), Olympics (32) and Karela United (32) find themselves in danger zone; reason this weekend’s ties would be brutally contested.
BY LINUS SIAW NARTEY
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
