Sports
Premier League: Nsoatreman pip Kotoko; Gold Stars drop points; Young Apostles pull shock win; Dreams, Vision bag wins
Asante Kotoko lost 1-0 at Nsoatreman FC but remained top of the Premier League table after match day 19.
Gabriel Bonnah scored the decisive goal in 81st minute to hand his side the survival boosting win at the Nana Kronmansah Park in Nsoatre.
Kotoko remain on top of the table with 34 points after 19 matches while Nsoatreman have jumped to 13th in the table.
Gold Stars FC missed the chance to go top of the Premier League after a drab stalemate against FC Samartex 1996 at home on Sunday February 2, 2025.
The Western derby failed to produce goals as the two top teams shared the spoils in an entertaining match at the Duns Park in Bibiani.
The Miners remain on points with leaders Asante Kotoko on 34 while the defending champions are locked in mid-table.
Nurudeen Abdulai scored the only goal of the match for Medeama SC in a match-winning 1-0 success over Legon Cities on Sunday.
Nurudeen, who is now being deployed as defensive midfielder, grabbed the match winner in the 70th minute to separate the two teams at the TnA Stadium in Tarkwa.
Medeama maintain their 7th position in the table while Cities remain in the bottom three.
Vision FC rallied from behind to beat basement boys Accra Lions 2-1 at home on Sunday February 2, 2025.
Yao Sokpoli opened the scoring for the visitors as early as the 8th minute before Emmanuel Akansase pulled parity in the 79th minute.
As the match appeared to be heading to a draw, Isaac Opoku Agyemang scored the match-winner through the spot kick at the Nii Adjei Kraku II Sports Complex in Tema New Town.
Vision find themselves in 11th position while Accra Lions remain firmly rooted at the bottom.
Young Apostles pulled the chestnut out of the blazing fire with a 2-1 win at Nations FC on Sunday.
The visitors scored twice courtesy Emmanuel Kontor and Ramzy Abubakar before defender Razak Simpson pulled a goal back for the home side.
Nations, serving a one-match home suspension, suffered the defeat at the Len Clay Stadium in Obuasi.
The win has lifted Apostles to 12th while Nations remain in third place.
Aduana FC recorded a narrow 1-0 win over Bechem United to triumph in the Bono derby on Sunday.
Kelvin Obeng’s 8th minute strike separated the two teams at the Nana Agyemang Badu I Park.
Aduana lie 13th while Bechem United remain in 6th position.
Dreams FC continued their survival push with a 2-1 win over Basake Holy Stars at home on Sunday.
Abdul Razak Salifu opened the scoring for the home side before Emmanuel Kwame pulled parity for the visitors at the Tuba Astro turf.
Experienced striker Joseph Esso scored the match-winning goal to hand Dreams the vital win in their survival ambition.
Dreams, three points above the drop zone, lie 14th in the table while the Premier League new boys find themselves in 10th position.
Karela United recorded a 2-1 win over Berekum Chelsea at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Alhassan Adamu grabbed a sensational brace (12th and 48th) minutes before Kwasi Fosu pulled a goal back for the visitors.
Despite the win, United remain in the bottom three while Chelsea find themselves in 8th position in the table.
Ghana Premier League side, Nations FC, may have suffered the drop in the just ended Premier League and are destined for a fresh campaign in the Division One League (DOL).
But they stand a huge chance of remaining in the elite stage of the game as they face Dreams FC in an epic MTN FA Cup final at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium tomorrow at 6pm.
Dreams FC have been there before; going ahead to taste the honours in the 2022-23 season after defeating King Faisal.
Coming from a season that saw them crawl from the initial stages of the league to finish on a respectable fourth position, they come in as strong favourites to double their honours in the nation’s second top football competition.
History favours them in this regard. On their first final, they conquered and based on this, connoisseurs of the game have tipped them to make it ‘two-on-two.’
But Nations FC have been empowered by the age-old adage that “He that is down need fear no fall.”
Nothing can be worse than suffering relegation and exiting the limelight as far as exposure is concerned.
But the FA offers a decent opportunity to make them stay relevant.
Conquering Dreams FC would not just make them MTN FA Cup champions. It will grant them the prestigious slot to represent Ghana in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) second tier club competition- the Confederations Cup.
With Dreams FC harbouring the same ambitions, the stage is, therefore, set for a final that promises to be explosive and uncompromising.
The situation of Nations FC might have come to many as a surprise, considering their promising start to the season, with their defence especially, marshalled by Black Stars defender, Razak Simpson, and colleague central defender, Raymond Grippman, earning a lot of reviews.
But despite the struggles they endured at certain times of their campaign, the MTN FA Cup always provided slices of good fortunes as they managed to navigate their way to the final.
Road to the top
Nations FC began the MTN FA Cup competition on a promising note, enjoying some good runs with a win over DOL Zone Two side, Ebony FC, in the Round of 64.
That landed them in a tricky encounter with another high-flying Zone Two candidate, AshantiGold SC, a side that eventually won the title from the zone to qualify to the Premier League, but escaped.
At the round of 16 stage, they encountered and defeated Ghana Premier League side, Swedru All Blacks, 2-1 to gain progression to the quarter final stage where they edged Berekum Chelsea on penalties.
A dicey semi-final awaited them against Aduana FC in Swedru. It was a game Nations was given little chance to escape considering Aduana FC’s form but once again, they conquered to secure a final berth.
In total, the Abrankese-based club have scored eight goals and conceded only two throughout the competition, making them one of the strongest defensive sides in the tournament.
For Dreams FC, they defeated Division One League Zone Three side, Semper Fi, 2-1 to progress to the next stage of the competition where they accounted for Division Two side, Asanska FC, 2-0.
That handed them a quarterfinal berth where they faced Inter Allies and drew one all before winning 4-3 on penalties.
The happiest moment in their success story was a 3-2 semi-final win over GPL winners, Medeama SC.
With that feat, Dreams have been touted as potential winners as the match comes at a time the Nations FC side may be psychologically down over the weight of the challenge they face in the next season.
However, the competition has gain notoriety for not following any form guide and outcomes mostly coming as major surprises.
In this regard, Dreams may be tipped as favourite candidates but though Nations are wounded, the stakes could revive an insatiable desire to apply the brakes to turn the dreams of Dreams FC into a nightmare.
Support
The support from MTN Ghana has no doubt improved competition among the clubs with the attractive incentive packages for participating clubs.
MTN Ghana, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana, formally became headline sponsors of the Ghana FA Cup in the 2010/2011 football season after the competition had returned from an eight-year hiatus.
The first edition under MTN sponsorship was won by Nania FC, who defeated Asante Kotoko 1–0 in the final at the Accra Sports Stadium.
Since then, the competition has been known as the MTN FA Cup, with MTN renewing its sponsorship several times — in 2013, 2017, 2020 and again for subsequent seasons.
By Andrew Nortey
The Black Stars have opened camp in Cardiff ahead of next week’s international friendly against Wales.
The team is being taken through training drills by head coach Carlos Queiroz.
Thirteen players trained at Dragon Park on Monday, with others expected to join the squad on Tuesday.
They include Ernest Nuamah, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Jordan Ayew, Caleb Yirenkyi, Abdul Fatawu Issahaku, Elisha Owusu, Gideon Mensah, Marvin Senaya, Jerome Opoku, Benjamin Asare, Joseph Anang, Solomon Agbasi, and Alidu Seidu.
The Black Stars will train in Cardiff for one week ahead of the international friendly against Wales on Tuesday, June 2, before traveling to the United States of America.
Coach Carlos Queiroz will use the period to assess his players before naming his final squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Twenty-six players will be submitted to FIFA on Monday, June 1, as mandated by the competition regulations.
The Black Stars are drawn in Group L with Panama, England, and Croatia. They will open their World Cup campaign against Panama on June 17 in Toronto before facing England and Croatia in their other group matches.
