Kick Away trounces Ortega

National draught champion, George Afrifa, proved his supremacy in the game once more when he defeated emerging sensation Evans Koranteng 5-1 in a rematch of their "who is who" contest in Tema last Sunday.

Afrifa, popularly called Kick Away, dispatched his opponent in such comprehensive manner in three hours 35 minutes to erase doubts about the real king of the local indoor sport at the Community 9 Draught Club.

The contest had attracted wide interest from both players and followers of the game, including Afrifa's biggest rival and former national champion, Nii Ayi.

And when Koranteng (better known as Ortega in draught circles) won the first game, he gave a hint of the upset he had promised his fans and the organisers. Indeed, he had forced six draws in eight games when he lost 2-0 at Community 4 in Tema on January 2.

But it proved his best play of the day and the farthest he could reach as Afrifa won the next three games in quick succession to take a commanding lead.

By that time, both frustration and desperation appeared to suffocate Ortega, and despite managing to draw the fifth game, he seemed out of his depth as Kick Away thumped him in the next two games to seal victory and the ultimate prize.

The victory followed another comprehensive 5-0 trouncing of Nii Arday, one of the best in the game currently, in Accra on Saturday, while Ortega endured a forgettable weekend, having lost 5-2 to Nii Ayi on Saturday too.

In a popular request from fans, however, Afrifa and Nii Ayi drew 1-1 after seven games.

Alhaji Kasim, who financed and facilitated Sunday's games, expressed the hope that corporate bodies would be attracted by the wide public interest to sponsor similar competitions.