Sports
Oly, Hearts clash in ‘Ga Mashie’ derby
The much-heralded cracker, dubbed the ‘Ga Mashie derby’ between Hearts of Oak and Great Olympics will be waged this evening (kick off 6pm) at the Accra Sports Stadium.
It was a jamboree for Hearts last year when the two teams clashed with the Phobians running away with a 4-0 thumping of their sworn rivals in the truncated season.
Benjamin Afutu’s double, Daniel Barnieh and Joseph Esso’s efforts were enough for the Phobians to grab the bragging rights; a result Hearts will be eager to play against a very solid Olympics side.
New Oly gaffer Yaw Preko will be in search of his second win since he took over from Annor Walker as he seeks to halt the Phobians. With both sides recording a point each from their last encounter, a win for Hearts could secure the first position, while victory for the ‘Dade’ boys assures them of a second position on the log.
With no news concerning injuries, the individual brilliance of Oly’s skipper Gladson Awako could come to play while youngster Hearts’ Manaf Umar would hope to pull the strings for Coach Kosta Papic.
The tricky moments continue tomorrow where Asante Kotoko travel to lock horns with Ashantigold SC in the ‘Ashanti derby’ at the Obuasi Len Clay Stadium on a Sunday afternoon. The last meeting between both sides ended in a 0-0 stalemate at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi. This time around, the Porcupine Warriors will make a two-hour trip to the mining town to face Ashgold in a very cagey game. Both teams picked up defeats in their previous game and will be hoping to make amends.
Kotoko will be elated with the comeback of Mudashiru Salifu in midfield and forward Osman Ibrahim could make a return to the team as interim coach Johnson Smith is positive ahead of their clash.
Top scorer Hans Kwofie, who missed out in their defeat to Legon Cities last weekend, will be available for the Miners. A win for any side could push them to top spot as they both boast of 16 points each.
In other fixtures, languishing King Faisal will host Berekum City at the Ohene Ameyaw today at 3pm.
It will be a battle of survival tomorrow at the Accra Sports Stadium when Inter Allies square off with Legon Cities, while WAFA welcome struggling Liberty Professionals to the Sogakope Red Bull Arena with Dreams FC traveling to face Elmina Sharks at the Nduom Park at 3pm.
Table-toppers Karela United will host Medeama SC at the Anyinase Park at 3pm with Aduana Stars hosting Ebusua Dwarfs at the Agyeman Badu I Park in Dormaa.
As of press time, title favourites Bechem United were squaring off with Eleven Wonders at the Bechem park.
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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