Ghana Premier League: Aduana, Samartex clash in Dormaa showdown
Former champions Aduana FC and FC Samartex 1996 collide tomorrow in what has all the makings of a high-stakes Ghana Premier League showdown at the Nana Agyemang Badu I Park in Dormaa-Ahenkro.
Separated by just a single point on the table, this is a fixture loaded with consequence. Third-placed Aduana FC sit on 35 points and are desperate to keep the pressure on leaders Medeama SC, while Samartex arrive knowing a positive result could propel them firmly into the top-four conversation.
With Asante Kotoko, Aduana and Hearts of Oak all locked on 35 points, the margin for error is small. For the ‘Ogya’ team, this is an opportunity for vital points to break clear of the chasing pack and reassert themselves as genuine title contenders after surrendering an early-season grip on top spot that has allowed Medeama to open up an eight-point cushion.
Back on home soil, Aduana FC will draw confidence from a ground that has long been a difficult hunting ground for visitors. From a tactical standpoint, expect a cagey, hard-fought affair.
Both sides have built their campaigns on defensive discipline rather than attacking excess. Aduana FC have scored 20 goals and conceded 12, while FC Samartex boast an even tighter back line, having let in just 10 goals while scoring 16.
One man certain to be in the spotlight is FC Samartex goalkeeper Musah Zakari. Arguably the league’s outstanding shot-stopper this season, Zakari leads the clean-sheet charts and has conceded just 10 goals in 20 appearances, making him a formidable last line of defence.
For Aduana FC, much of the attacking responsibility rests on Emmanuel Marfo. The home side’s leading scorer with six goals, Marfo, is closing in on the league’s pacesetters, Samuel Attah Kumi and Emmanuel Opoku, who both have eight. Particularly dangerous at home, Marfo will be eager to bolster his Golden Boot credentials.
Other matches
Elsewhere, attention turns to Dun’s Park in Bibiani, where champions Gold Stars entertain Swedru All Blacks in a match that marks the first test for newly appointed All Blacks Head Coach, Kassim Ocansey Mingle.
The experienced tactician has been handed the task of reviving the fortunes of the Premier League returnees, who currently sit 11th, and his debut in the dugout will be keenly scrutinised.
At the University of Ghana Sports Stadium, Hearts of Oak — the league’s best away performers this season — welcome Bechem United. The visitors have clawed their way out of the relegation zone after a difficult start and now face a Hearts side brimming with confidence after last weekend’s emphatic 3-0 win.
Bechem, 10th on the log, will pin their hopes on the red-hot Augustine Okrah, who has scored in three consecutive matches and is chasing his seventh goal of the campaign.
Karela United, winless in five matches, will be desperate for relief when they host Hohoe United at the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium in Tamale, while Basake Holy Stars face a stern test against Berekum Chelsea at the Ampain II Sports Stadium. At the Ohene Ameyaw Stadium, Young Apostles lock horns with bottom side Eleven Wonders.
Later today, pressure will be firmly on Heart of Lions as they welcome second-placed Kotoko SC to the Kpando Stadium. The Lions are reeling after a narrow defeat to Bechem United last weekend — their seventh loss of the season — and have managed just one win in their last ten league matches (D3, L6), the worst run in the division over that period.
Despite sitting seventh with 27 points from 20 games, eight points off the top four, Lions can take solace from their home form. Six wins from nine matches at Kpando this season offer a glimmer of hope, and they will be desperate to secure back-to-back home victories for the first time since November.
Kotoko, meanwhile, travel with renewed belief after a commanding 3-0 win over Basake Holy Stars at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium ended a three-match winless run and delivered their first victory of the second round. Coach Abdul Karim Zito’s side has now gone five games unbeaten in four, keeping clean sheets in four of those outings.
The Porcupine Warriors sit second with 35 points, boasting the league’s second-best attack (27 goals) and one of the meanest defences (11 conceded). The fourth-best away side this season, Kotoko will be intent on securing a tenth league win as they continue their pursuit of leaders Medeama.
Rounding off the weekend, Vision FC, 11th on the table, host an improving Dreams FC side at the Nii Adjei Kraku II Sports Complex in Tema, with both teams eyeing momentum as the season enters a decisive phase.
