Sports
Gold Stars, Hearts to battle for 2nd spot … As race for top 4 intensifies
With just a point off the relegation zone, All Blacks Head Coach Kassim Ocansey Mingle and his charges are well aware of what it will mean should they lose this game.
Together with management, the team is leaving no stone unturned as they look to pick all three points from the game to further boost their survival.
Coach Mingle believes his boys would rise to the occasion and inflict the third defeat of the season on Medeama come tomorrow.
For Medeama coach Tanko Ibrahim, the stakes will be high in the game, and his side is not underestimating the opposition, adding that they will treat the game like a cup final.
Coach Samuel Boadu of Berekum Chelsea will look to build on the performance that saw his side pick up a point away at Hearts of Oak when they welcome Young Apostles FC to the Golden City Park in a game that they dare not falter; because that could see Apostles leapfrog the host, who would drop into the relegation zone.
Two-time league champions Aduana FC will continue their push for the title when they play as guests of Dreams FC at the Tuba Astro Turf.
After defeat in their last game away to Vision FC, Bechem United FC will return to the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in search of their ninth victory of the season when they face Karela United.
In other games, Basake Holy Stars FC will look to build upon their accumulated 29 points when they welcome Heart of Lions to the AAK II Sports Stadium in Azulewanu, Nzema, while debutant Hohoe United will return to the Hohoe Stadium to host former league winners Samartex FC.
A second spot on the Ghana Premier League (GPL) table will be up for grabs when defending champions Bibiani Gold Stars host Accra Hearts of Oak in the matchday 24 fixture at the Dun’s Park tomorrow.
Separated by two points on the log, Gold Stars, who are on 42 points, will be hoping to play catch-up with leaders Medeama SC, whom they trail by three points, with a victory in this game while stretching the lead over Hearts to five points.
Swiss tactician Fritz Markus Schmid hopes to end the seeming stalemate in this fixture in recent times, and backed by the league’s leading marksman Samuel Attah Kumi, Gold Stars is plotting to see the back of the Phobians, who are the leading away travellers in the league with six wins.
With three wins in three matches for Bibiani Gold Stars, and six goals scored in the process, the likelihood of scoring in this game is high; however, it remains to be seen if they can do so against Black Stars shot-stopper Benjamin Asare, who has nine clean sheets to his name and is likely to man the post, that is, if he is not given a rest for his capable lieutenant Solomon Agbasi.
At the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Asante Kotoko, in search of a second successive win after beating Young Apostles on the road, will engage Vision FC in a tricky tie.
Having played out a goalless draw in the first-round fixture, the encounter carries added weight, especially coming on the back of Vision FC’s recent form.
The Tema New Town side, fresh from the 3-2 win over Bechem United last week which saw them climb into the top half of the table, will be looking to build on that success to further push up the ladder with a result other than a defeat, while Kotoko looks to break into the top three with a victory.
By Raymond Ackumey
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![Mrs Georgina Quaittoo [third from right] pose with some members of the Association Photos Okai Elizabeth.](https://spectator.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Mrs-Georgina-Quaittoo-third-from-right-pose-with-some-members-of-the-Association-Photos-Okai-Elizabeth-400x240.jpg)
![Mrs Georgina Quaittoo [third from right] pose with some members of the Association Photos Okai Elizabeth.](https://spectator.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Mrs-Georgina-Quaittoo-third-from-right-pose-with-some-members-of-the-Association-Photos-Okai-Elizabeth-80x80.jpg)
A little over six weeks ago, everything pointed to a Medeama SC coronation as 2025/26 Ghana Premier League (GPL) champions at the end of the season.
That sounds premature, considering the fact that there were close to about 15 matches before the curtain was drawn on the competition.
However, believers of that assumption were right with that call due to Medeama’s form and doughty-character.
Medeama has been fearless this season. They have been ruthless, sharp, composed and a very formidable opposition, dealing with what their opponents throw at them.
In fact, establishing a 17-game unbeaten run speaks volumes of the quality Medeama has shown this season.
Two people have been key in this transformational story – Coach Ibrahim Tanko and playmaker, Salim Adams.
As of Week 21, Medeama SC opened a yawning seven-point gap with 43 points, leading Aduana FC, Hearts of Oak and Gold Stars, all with 36 points without any indication of slowing down.
But the story has completely changed just four matches after, with Medeama currently occupying the top spot with a slim one point.
Worse of all is the failure to record a win in their last five games in the competition, surviving at the top with unfavourable results of their closest competitors.
That winless run has seen Medeama drawn in three games against Samartex FC, Aduana FC and Swedru All Blacks, and lost to Nations FC and Hohoe United.
The nature of the defeat to Hohoe United generated controversy among those who won’t accept that a penalty miss and an erratic clearance by goalkeeper Felix Kyei that gifted the Voltarians the winning goal were genuine errors.
Their recent falters should have been pleasant opportunities for second-placed Gold Stars, and Hearts of Oak to capture reins at the top, but strangely, they suffered challenges of their own; leaving Medeama hanging at the top.
These dynamics are beginning to paint a positive picture for the competition as clubs at the top fight for more points to take pole positions, wrest with strugglers who are also battling hard for survival.
Outside of the top three, with chances of assuming the top spot if the Medeama form does not see any improvement, are Karela United and Asante Kotoko.
Despite their struggles, they have an outside chance of joining the battle at the top with nine matches to go.
At this stage of the competition, the pressure will be on Coach Ibrahim Tanko and his Medeama charges. Having ‘bottled’ a seven-point gap to a single point, it is surely theirs to lose.
Tanko, in previous interviews, has parried questions over the pressure on him and the team, but their current predicament leaves much to be desired.
The next two months would witness intense battle at both ends of the table with as many as five clubs having reason to contest for the ultimate, with about the same number set for the late drama to escape the last two slots to join Eleven Wonders, who are the surest bet for demotion.
By Andrew Nortey
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A step closer to glory awaits six Ghana Premier League (GPL) club sides and two Division One clubs as they battle for spots at the semi-finals stage of the 2025-26 MTN FA Cup this weekend at the Cape Coast Stadium and the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem.
Dreams FC, the 2022-2023 champions, will clash with Heart of Lions in the quarter-finals at the Cape Coast Stadium tomorrow at pm.
Heart of Lions are going through a difficult spell in the league, having lost ground on their title aspirations that started brightly.
Dreams FC thrashed Lions 3-0 in the reverse fixture of the GPL game in January after losing 1-0 in the first round tie, and tomorrow’s game comes in to settle the scores between the two sides this season.
Although struggling, Lions lie two places above Dreams’ 12th position on the league log and will look to take that inspiration into the game.
The day’s other game will see two-time champions Medeama SC battle Access Bank Division One League (DOL) Zone Three side Attram De Visser at the same venue at 7pm.
The GPL leaders Medeama SC are in the chase for a double this season and will chase a win to appease their fans.
After defeating Asante Kotoko 4-2 on penalties in the Round of 16, Aduana FC will seek to account for Access Bank DOL Zone One B campaigners, Techiman Liberty Youth, today.
Aduana FC are in the hunt for a double this season as they are currently third on the GPL table, trailing leaders Medeama SC with five points.
Having been decisive in matches against Nsuatre FC, Victory Club Warriors and Real Tamale United to get this far, the best in the annals of the club’s history, coach Ezekiel Nii Yeboah of Liberty Youth would be out to cause an upset.
At the Nana Fosu Gyeabour Park in Bechem tomorrow, another interesting pairing is set to play out as the all-Premier League affair between Nations FC and Berekum Chelsea takes centre stage.
By Raymond Ackumey
