Sports
Hearts, Aduana set to boot opening game
The first round of matches in the Ghana Premier League (GPL) ended on Monday evening at the Accra Sports Stadium where Inter Allies and Dreams FC battled to a frenetic stalemate.
After eight games, seven draws were recorded with one win going in favour of the West African Soccer Academy (WAFA) where they snatched a 4-3 win over King Faisal at home.
Hearts of Oak were scheduled to play away to Aduana Stars in Dormaa last Saturday, but the tie was called off due to some of their players testing positive for COVID-19.
However, the excitement continues as the second round of games resumed yesterday. But the game to keep an eye on will be the Hearts v AshGold tie on Tuesday at the Accra Sports Stadium and the Berekum Chelsea-Kotoko thriller.
Two games were expected to kick off yesterday with another today and the remaining five on Sunday.
The Phobians will seek to begin their campaign on a good note against the Miners this weekend. In their first game, AshGold surrendered a 2-1 lead only for Karela to draw level in the dying embers of the afternoon.
Eleven Wonders will kick-start the second round of matches with late kick off on Friday (yesterday) in Techiman where they host Ebusua Dwarfs in a very cagey affair.
The Wonders snatched a well deserved point against Kotoko last Sunday and will be looking forward to amass three points against a very tricky Ebusua Dwarfs who drew 2-2 with rivals Elmina Sharks in the Fante-derby.
Olympics will climax the last game on Friday with a late kick off at the Accra Sports Stadium where they take on Legon Cities in the regional derby. The Dade boys pulled the surprise on match day one after they snatched a deserved point against title contenders Medeama SC in Tarkwa. A very disappointing result for coach Samuel Boadu and his charges.
The train will then land in Bechem today where Bechem United invite WAFA to the Bechem Park at 15:00 GMT.
The Bechem boys will have a hard nut to crack against WAFA as the latter seek to make it six points in two games after defeating King Faisal 4-3 last weekend, while United also look to pick up their first win of the campaign.
Very comfortable at the Crosby Awuah Stadium in Anyinase, Karela will face off with Inter Alllies on Sunday afternoon. Both sides have snatched a point each in their first games and will be looking forward to their first three points in a cracking affair.
Liberty Professionals will travel to Elmina where they square off with the Sharks at the Papa Kwesi Nduom Stadium. Sharks were forced to share the spoils with Dwarfs in a late goal from goalkeeper Issa Razak in a 2-2 draw and will be looking forward to make amends on match day two.
Liberty also saw a late goal from Bechem United in Dansoman where points were split in a 1-1 draw.
The Theatre of Dreams in Dawu will be centre of attraction when Dreams play against Medeama SC on Sunday afternoon. Medeama were stunned when they shared spoils with Olympics in their opener, while Dreams who looked favorites last Monday against Inter Allies were held to a goalless draw. The ‘Still Believe’ lads could surprise the Tarkwa-based side.
Chelsea travel back to the Golden City Park on Sunday with a point after they were held to a 1-1 draw with Legon Cities. With the shocker of a result against Eleven Wonders last Sunday, Kotoko will come gun blazing against Chelsea.
Coach Maxwell Konadu will miss the services of midfielder Latif Anabilla which could be a big blow to him.
The Porcupine Warriors will have to give their all to grab a win against a Chelsea side without the services of reliable centre-backs Zakaria Fuseini, Ahmed Adams and Jonah Attuquaye but looked poised for the kill with the likes of Stephen Amankona, Kofi Owusu and arrival of ‘experienced’ centre-back Edward Kpodo.
King Faisal will climax the second round of games in their crucial game with Aduana Stars who are yet to kick a ball in the Ghana Premier League.
Despite a series of poor results last season, King Faisal began their 2020/21 scoring three goals but conceded four against Sogakope-based WAFA last Sunday.
Having already warmed themselves into the league, the ‘Insha Allah’ boys will look forward to startling the Dormaa-based side who were tipped to win the ultimate before the league was truncated and the backline will have to deal with bulky and tough forward Yahaya Mohammed who bagged 11 goals in 15 games for Aduana Stars last season.
BY LINUS SIAW NARTEY
Otto Addo is taking a calm and focused approach to the World Cup after being drawn against England, Panama, and Croatia in Group L.
“I look forward to every game as special,” he told ghanafa.org.
“Very important for us that we don’t underrate any team. For sure, England is the favourite in that group,” he acknowledged. “But for me as a coach, to be honest, I’m looking at each and every game equally.”
Addo is particularly focused on getting a strong start against Panama. “I’m hoping that we have a good start against Panama, that will be very, very crucial,” he said. “It will make the other games a little bit more relaxed and easier for the players psychologically. We will use the window of March for test matches, and then see,” he said.
Despite being a young team, Addo is proud of his squad’s progress. “I think we did very well in the qualifiers ” he said. “We didn’t lose a single official game, like the qualifying games, we did very well. We just played one draw and the rest we won, so we had quite a good year in 2025, after a bad year in 2024’’.
“Even though we have a very young team, we really, really did well, had a good harmony in the team, good union,” he added.
Ghana will open their FIFA World Cup campaign against Panama in Toronto on June 17 before facing England and Croatia in the other Group L matches on June 23 and 27 respectively.
The unbeaten away run of Accra Hearts of Oak will be put to the test tomorrow when they visit the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale to play as guests of Karela United. Described as one of the top-liners of the weekend games, the match will pitch one of the best home teams against the best away team, with their records on the line.
After playing a pulsating 2-2 draw with Kumasi Asante Kotoko last week, league leaders Medeama SC return to their fortress, the TnA Stadium, to welcome Berekum Chelsea FC in a clash of former league winners. Medeama have struggled in recent times to hold their own against the ‘Bibires’, losing their last four games both home and away.
However, according to Head Coach of Medeama, Tanko Ibrahim, that sequence of results will come to an end tomorrow as they look to crawl out of the claws of their opponents with victory. Eleven points separate the sides, with Berekum Chelsea lying a distant 14th position on the log. They have been a pale shadow of themselves this season, and it remains to be seen if Coach Samuel Boadu’s side can keep the bragging rights over the Yellow and Mauves in what has been described as one of their worse starts to a league season.
Today, second-placed Kpando Heart of Lions will trek to the Kwame Kyei Sports Complex in Abrankese to play as guests of struggling Nations FC. Having suffered a 1-0 away loss to Basake Holy Stars in their last game, Nations FC would look to pick all three points to better their current 12th position.
In other games, the Hohoe Sports Stadium will come alive as new boys Hohoe United FC welcome Kumasi Asante Kotoko. The Nii Adjei Kraku II Sports Complex in Tema will host the Vision FC versus Young Apostles FC game, the Tuba Astro Turf will host the Dreams FC versus Bechem United FC clash, while the Nsenkyire Sports Arena will host the Samartex FC versus Bibiani Gold Stars game. High-riding Aduana FC will sort things out with Basake Holy Stars at the Nana Agyeman Badu I Park in Dormaa.
By Raymond Ackumey
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