Sports
Can Kotoko crack the Aduana nut at Dormaa?
Ghana’s two football powerhouses Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko are gradually renewing their intense title challenge with the two sides locked neck-and-neck on 46 points with eight games remaining in a tight Ghana Premier League (GPL) campaign.
The heated title hunt between the two decorated clubs which used to be a regular feature of the league season lost its place as the two sides giants struggled to find their feet in the early race as they chased the tail of Medeama, Karela United, Aduana SC and Great Olympics.
But as the competition heads into its 27th week, the two sides have rediscovered their form and historic urge to lead the chase for the title with Hearts on top on goal difference.
But Kotoko can resume temporary charge of the summit after they relinquished topspot to their arch-rivals, drawing their last two games. Heading to Dormaa to face Aduana Stars today, that task would be a difficult one as the ‘Ogya boys’ have carved a reputation as a bogey side for the visitors – winning their last two encounters.
Compounding the revenge mission for the ‘Porcupine Warriors’ would be the absence of head coach Mariano Barreto who is away in Portugal to ostensibly renew his UEFA coaching licence and the dreaded mission of playing at the Nana Agyemang Badu Park where the homeside are yet to be defeated in 12 outings.
The trump card for the Porcupines would be the ability of their strike force comprising Fabio Gama, Andy Kumi, and Emmanuel Gyamfi to convert their scoring opportunities, a phenomenon that was missing in their last game against WAFA.
The situation is a sharp contrast in the camp of Hearts of Oak who are flying high under Samuel Boadu. The ‘Phobians’ are on a four-game winning streak and would be hoping to extend that run against an ailing Berekum Chelsea team whose last game against an Accra-based team was a 5-1 drubbing by Inter Allies. More remarkably, the rippling success would be that the Phobians extend their stay at the summit.
In other games, fourth–placed Medeama who lost some fire in their title bid will confront bottom side Inter Allies at the Theatre of Dreamsat Dawu. They must, however, be mindful against the homeside who by recent results have proved their readiness to fight against the relegation drop to the death.
High-flying Dreams’form would be tested by relegation-threatened Liberty Professionals today at Sogakope.
A local derby set to thrill locals at Techiman would be contended between a revived King Faisal and distraught Eleven Wonders. With both sides facing the threat of relegation, the game is primed to be a heated affair that will serve the appetite of the 25 per cent football fans permitted to the venue on Sunday.
Resurgent WAFA, unbeaten in three games, will hope to carry on with their new venture against Ebusua Dwarfs who have a knack for tilting the scales, setting the game up as a blockbuster at the Sogakope Park on Sunday.
Legon Cities headcoach, Bashiru Hayford who has made significant strides in steering his team away from the relegation pit will guide his charges against his former side Ashantigold who fell off a cliff after a good start, while Bechem United would be eager to get back on track against struggling Elmina Sharks.
As of press time yesterday, visiting Olympics were slotting it out with Karela at the dreaded Crosby Awuah Memorial (CAM) Park in Aiyinase.
BY NANA BENTSI ODURO
Sports
GoldStars GPL feat no fluke
No prophet in Ghana would have been taken serious with prophesies of Bibiani GoldStars becoming the new champions of the 2024/25 Ghana Premier League (GPL).
That is not to take anything away from Coach Frimpong Manso, an Asante Kotoko legend, and his boys for the yeoman’s job they did in the just ended season.
They deserve every bit of the plaudits coming from well-wishers.
They came, they saw and conquered on their fourth year (2021/2022 season) in the elite stage of Ghana football.
Of course, this can only be a reality in the end but not a sound prediction at the start of the season.
But, so has it been. Stories like that of GoldStars sharply brings to mind a similar fairytale orchestrated in the advanced English Premier League (GPL) with the 2015/16 edition.
In the face of the Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool dominance, Leicester emerged with a bang, conquering every hurdle in sight with unsung heroes like Jamie Vardy, Wilfred Ndidi, Shinji Okazaki, Leonardo Ulloa, Danny Drinkwater, Robert Huth, Riyad Mahrez and others.
There was no indication of that sort at the start of the season.
As usual, the focus was on the aforementioned heavyweights but Leicester took the competition by storm to record a historic win.
Back home, the GoldStars story is not different. Despite the recent struggles by perennial favourites, Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko, the two have always found their ways in fans prediction regarding the side to emerge winners.
Interestingly, both sides just managed to end up in the top four after Nations FC’s decision to abandon a game against Basake Holy Stars who cost them dearly, in the end, forfeiting the said game and going ahead to suffer a further three points deduction penalty.
Nations FC were actually the top favourites for the title until that ill-fated match against Basake Holy Stars.
Campaigning for the second year in the competition, very few followers of the game gave the Timber giants any chance.
But in the same ‘Rambo’ style, teams like Medeama SC and Aduana Stars descended on the GPL, GoldStars emerged with all guns blazing, strategically employing a tactic of making the Dun’s Park in Bibiani, a waterloo for visiting teams.
On a few occasions, they sprung surprises on the journey, recording a few upsets against gullible teams including Hearts of Oak in Accra.
They had a promising coach like Frimpong Manso who is yet to establish himself among the elites local coaches maybe because he is yet to work with any of the established club sides in the country.
But winning the local competition with a less endowed club makes you a legend, and truly, he has become one.
To management and other members of the technical team, one could only congratulate them for a job well executed.
The players have a huge role to play in proving that the feat was no fluke and that GoldStars has come to stay; and would continue to make an impact in the local game.
Much is not known about these players except Vincent Atinga who plied his trade with Hearts of Oak and Medeama SC. Others like Samuel Attah Kumi, Frank Amankwah, Kelvin Oppong, Charles Gyamfi Kamara, Abdul Farouk Amoaful, Gideon Anaba, Samuel Acheampong, Foster Agyei and Yakubu Haqq remain emerging talents aiming to carve a niche for themselves.
Definitely with the new challenge, some areas of the team would be strengthened as they face the finest sides on the continent.
Another season with a new champion should also serve as a wake-up call for the likes of Hearts or Oak and Asante Kotoko to quickly return to their glory days lest they lose their enviable place among the football elite clubs. Well-done GoldStars.
By Andrew Nortey
Sports
Golden Kick, a tricky obstacle for Kotoko in MTN FA Cup final tomorrow
The University of Ghana Stadium will come alive tomorrow when Ghanaian giants, Kumasi Asante Kotoko, take on lower tier side, Golden Kicks FC, in a thrilling climax to the 2024/25 MTN FA Cup final tomorrow at exactly 5pm.
The much anticipated game, which is more than just a battle for silverware but a meeting of tradition and ambition for both teams, is expected to draw thousands of football fanatics across the country to the Legon stadium for what promises to be a dramatic and tricky finale to this season’s domestic cup competition.
After an unsuccessful season in the Ghana Premier League which saw the Reds miss out on the title to Bibiani GoldStars, the Porcupine Warriors will be desperate to finish the season on a high by clinching the title to secure a place in the next CAF interclub competition.
The Reds have a rich history in the FA Cup competition having won it nine times and will be eyeing their 10th title to stamp their authority as the overall best.
Before reaching this stage, Asante Kotoko eliminated formidable opponents like True Democracy, Sekondi Eleven Wise and Berekum Chelsea in the semi-final.
The availability of players like Justice Blay, Kwame Opoku, Frederick Asare, Peter Amidu Acquah and striker Albert Amoah, among other notable players will be a big boost to Coach Karim Zito’s side.
Meanwhile, the task will not be an easy one for Kotoko looking at the way their opponents reached the final with wins over Accra Hearts of Oak and Bechem United before climaxing it with Attram d’ Visser.
Coached by young and tactical Fiifi Parker Hanson, Golden Kicks have a combined youthful team with tactical discipline to punch well above their weight and relish the opportunity to shock the giants once more on a bigger stage.
This final is more than just a contest between Premier League royalty and a hungry underdog but rather a tale of two contrasting football identities. Kotoko brings the weight of tradition, experience, legacy and pressure while Golden Kicks arrive with nothing to lose and everything to prove which makes the game a promised one, full of thrills and fireworks.
By Enoch Ntiamoah
