Ghana Premier League: Hearts of Oak pip Young Apostles to end winless run

Accra Hearts of Oak ended their five-game winless streak with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Young Apostles in their Matchday 28 fixture at the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday, April 5.

Frank Abora Duku’s first-half strike proved decisive in a spirited performance from the Phobians.

The Phobians began the match with urgency, keen to snap their poor run, but it was the visitors who created the first real threat. Just three minutes in, Claude Bortey’s header from a corner was cleared off the line by Kelvin Osei-Asibey.

A minute later, Hussein Mohammed attempted to slip Mawuli Wayo through on goal, but Bortey recovered well to block the pass.

The end-to-end action continued as Young Apostles captain Abdul Ganiyu audaciously attempted to chip Hearts goalkeeper Solomon Agbasi from the halfway line. The effort briefly had Agbasi scrambling, but it drifted off target.

Hearts eventually broke the deadlock eight minutes before halftime. A long ball from Agbasi was expertly controlled and laid off by Mawuli Wayo, allowing Frank Abora Duku to fire home from just outside the box.

The goal marked Duku’s first in consecutive matches since joining Hearts from Vision F.C. last June.

After the break, Hearts nearly doubled their lead when Ali Mohammed beat the offside trap from a free kick, but with the goal at his mercy, he failed to make proper contact.

In the 70th minute, Kelvin Osei-Asibey rose unmarked from a corner but directed a weak header straight at goalkeeper Frank Boateng.

Moments later, Ali Mohammed tested Boateng again with a well-struck free kick from just outside the area, but the goalkeeper produced an excellent save.

Duku came close to adding a second after capitalizing on a loose ball in the box, but his quick effort was comfortably gathered by Boateng.

Young Apostles nearly found an equalizer when Oppong Afranie appeared to deflect the ball toward his own net, but Agbasi reacted quickly to make the save.

With five minutes remaining, Agbasi was called into action again, parrying a long-range strike from Ramzy Abubakar.

Hearts held on to secure their first win in six league matches.

The victory lifts the Phobians to third place on the table with 46 points, four behind leaders Medeama SC. Meanwhile, Young Apostles drop into the relegation zone, sitting 16th with 33 points.