Sports
Oly dare Hearts in Accra …as Kotoko are crowned champions
The battle for survival will get hotter this weekend when the 2021/22 Ghana Premier League (GPL) reaches the penultimate stage tomorrow.
With Kumasi Asante Kotoko looking forward to their coronation after their late kick off game against relegated Elmina Sharks and the mouthwatering clash in Accra between Great Olympics and Hearts of Oak, fans attention will switch to the fierce fight to determine which two clubs join Sharks to the ‘Dessert’ or ‘Wilderness’ of Ghana football.
Elmina Sharks are already relegated. They will bid farewell officially in front of their home fans next week.
But three others including Eleven Wonders, Real Tamale United (RTU) and WAFA would battle it out for the last two slots to the Division One League (DOL) next season.
But Wonders did themselves some good to give their survival bid some boost when they defeated Accra Hearts of Oak 2-1 in an outstanding game on Wednesday.
That makes Wonders’ travel to Sogakope to face WAFA tomorrow the toughest clash of the round and promises to be full of fireworks.
WAFA’s position is precarious but a win could breathe some life into the campaign, heading into the final day.
Wonders mid-week win, secured in the last minutes of the game, could prove the ‘game-changer’ and are motivated by the win over Hearts to pull all three points against the Academy lads.
They would surely count on a rich home advantage to clinch a win to also avenge the first round defeat in the hands of Wonders.
The ‘Pride of the North’, RTU, also face a similar situation ahead of a dicey duel against King Faisal at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale.
The Tamale representatives currently lie 16th on the league table with 35 points; just two behind Wonders, and would have to grind a win for themselves and need a favour from WAFA to beat Wonders.
King Faisal appear to have moved away from the relegation zone but must avoid a defeat in the last two game, lest they be dragged into the relegation battle on the final day.
The relegation fairytale notwithstanding, the weekend would be lightened by the clash between local rivals Accra Great Olympics and Hearts of Oak at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Both teams have gone winless in the past two weeks and would want to make amends by emerging victorious in a game that hands the winner the city’s bragging rights.
Hearts’ dominance in this rivalry seem to have halted in the last two seasons; a period the Wonder Club has recorded two wins and a draw in their last three match-ups.
With an experienced and a more formidable squad made up of former Ghana internationals Gladson Awako, Sulley Muntari, Samuel Inkoom and in-form striker Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Kwadwo Obeng Jr, Hearts would be expected to brush aside the bluff of their rivals.
But Olympics will display that strong character in such high profile games to make things difficult for the Phobians as both play for pride and bragging rights.
Once again, Coach Annor Walker will rely on trusted faithful like Raymond Grippmann, Philip Sackey, Ibrahim Sulley, Maxwell Abbey Quaye and Samuel Ashie-Quaye to do the damage.
In other games, Medeama play Accra Lions at the Akoon Park, Legon Cities host Karela at El-Wak, Aduana against Bibiani Goldstars, Berekum Chelsea face Dreams FC, AshGold host Bechem United at Obuasi and Kotoko against Elmina Sharks.
BY MICHAEL D. ABAYATEYE
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
