Hearts beat All Stars in Accra

Accra Hearts of Oak yesterday produced an outstanding performance to secure a 2-1 victory over league champions Wa All Stars in their encounter at the Accra Sports Stadium.

Togolese import Alexander Kouassi’s powerful shot in the  35th minute and captain Thomas Abbey’s thumping header in the 85th won the day for Hearts.

This was after Wa All Star’s Richard Arthur had restored parity  in the 82nd minute to silence the home fans who were rooting for victory for their side after three consecutive draws in the league.

Hearts piled up pressure on the visitors from the beginning and nearly found the opener, but the interplay between winger Patrick Razak and striker Koaussi did not yield the desired result.

The Phobians sustained the onslaught  and kept All Stars at bay on their side  with Abbey , Razak and Yeboah combining beautifully .

Their efforts yielded results in the 35th minute when defender Anthony Nimo released  the ball to Kouassi in the vital area of the visitors. Kouassi pounced  on the ball and unleashed a shot that hit the back of the net to set the stadium alight.

Hearts were relentless afterwards and kept up the pressure to increase the tally. However the slippery nature of the pitch affected their play as they fumbled with the ball on many occasions.

 Wa All Stars who  appeared destined to lose offered little pressure  and allowed Hearts to run over them.

However, against the run of play winger Seth Boateng latched onto a ball from the left and led a solo run towards the area of Hearts. His sublime low drive was mishandled by Hearts goalie Benjamin Mensah and striker  Richard Arthur who was lurking around  slotted home the equaliser.

Hearts were undaunted and probed for the winner and their efforts paid off in the 85th minute when striker Kouassi floated a ball into the  vital area of All Stars Skipper  Thomas Abbey wasted no time to connect the ball to win the day for Hearts.